


The Rogues Gallery

by Sam4265



Category: DCU
Genre: Dick Grayson's Harem of Middle Aged Men, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, endgame Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-07-14 22:31:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 32,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16049894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sam4265/pseuds/Sam4265
Summary: If you asked Jason, Dick was dating all the wrong men. His relationships had always been problematic, but lately it just seemed like he was making his way through his rogues gallery looking for love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is already almost finished. I don't know what it was with this one, but I had it all out there in like two days. It mostly just needs editing, so stay tuned for updates.  
> I will add tags as I go.

If you asked Jason, Dick Grayson was dating all the wrong men. He had bad taste in people as a general rule, everyone knew it, but it seemed to Jason that the older he got, the worse his taste in partners got. He’d dated good people when he was younger: Barbara, Kori, and Roy to name a few, but his current fling was someone Jason didn’t even want to think about, because if he did he threw up in his mouth a little.

Dick Grayson was dating Slade fucking Wilson, to use the term loosely.

Jason had been reasonably sure his eyes were deceiving him, but the kiss had just gone on for so long. Slade had Dick wrapped up in massive arms, while Dick’s hands wound their way into Slade’s hair.

They’d been working with Slade because being around Dick usually made his dubious morality come out and play and they’d needed a known mercenary to go undercover for them. Jason was regretting asking him now, now that he had big hands spread over Dick’s back, and one hand in particular was reaching farther and farther toward indecency. Jason watched, one eye twitching, as they finally broke the kiss. Dick smiled lightly and ran his hand through Slade’s hair.

“Thank you for helping,” he said softly, like they were having some quiet emotional moment or something. Jason felt a little bit like he was going to puke.

“Anything for you beautiful,” Slade replied. Jason choked on air. Slade finally turned away and jumped off the roof, his grapple line catching and swinging his body away.

There was silence for a long moment as Dick stood watching Slade retreat. The line of his shoulders was tense, and he wouldn’t look back at Jason. Jason who hadn’t really known up until this point that the golden boy was dating the world’s worst. Which was a lot of hypocrisy to come from Bruce’s little “no killing” prodigy. How many times had he lectured Jason for not being a better man? Then he goes and sucks face with one of the worst men in the world. Jason folded his arms across his chest and felt a lecture brewing.

Finally Dick sighed.

“Lay it on me,” he said, resigned.

“What the fuck, Dickie?” Jason snapped.

“Look, it was a long time coming. We’re just seeing where it goes,” he replied. That didn’t make any more sense to Jason than the rest of the situation did.

“What the hell are you talking about? The guy’s got to be at least a decade and a half older than you! Plus, he kills people for a living! What the hell do you have to say about that? What does Bruce think?”

Dick sighed, and turned fully to look at him.

“Bruce knows, and he doesn’t like it either. Look, Jason, I get it, okay? I don’t think it’s going to last, but I’d like to at least see where it’s going. Slade and I have a long history together, it’s worth a shot.”

Jason felt like oddly like he was in an episode of the Twilight Zone, or maybe Punk’d. He subtly looked for cameras or maybe Ashton Kutcher.

“Dick, what are you going to do when you’re on opposite sides, or when he kills someone who didn’t deserve to die?” Jason asked. He wasn’t thinking about himself, not really, but it was hard not to be at least a little bit jealous. Slade was worse than Jason by all accounts, and really, what did Slade Wilson have that Jason didn’t? It wasn’t really that Jason had a thing for Dick, only, he sort of did, but so did pretty much everyone who laid eyes on Dick. He was the ultimate kind of handsome. Jason had his first sex dream about Dick, and while he wouldn’t go so far as to say he was in love with him or anything, he wouldn’t have said no if given the chance to go out with Dick. Only, here was Slade Wilson, Deathstroke, holding Dick, touching him like he owned him, and it made Jason sort of furious.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Dick said. If anything that just shocked Jason even more. Did he think they were going to last long enough to face that situation? Was he so serious about Slade that he would be willing to compromise on his twisted morals and his job as a mercenary? Jason didn’t want to admit it, but Slade must really mean something to Dick if he was willing to look past all that. Would he be willing to look past it for other people, too? For Jason?

No, he was stopping that train of thought right there. There was no need to continue along those lines, especially when Dick was clearly into someone else.

“Is it serious?” Jason asked. That was the more pressing issue here, anyway. Dick sighed, then shrugged.

“I can’t say yes,” he said.

“But you can’t say no, either,” Jason finished for him. Dick nodded.

“This is ridiculous, Dick, he’s a _villain_ ,” Jason protested, bewildered.

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“I’m not a mercenary!”

“No, Jason, you’re just a crime lord.” With that final remark, Dick twisted off the roof and flew through the air, headed back in the direction of his apartment. Jason stood there, a little hurt but mostly confused. It was true, he’d been a crime lord, sort of still was. Only he hadn’t been a _real_ crime lord. He’d killed people and assimilated territory, sure, but he was only doing it to dismantle the really bad syndicates, and to put a better one in their place. He had hard limits. No people trafficking, no drugs to kids, no prostitution. He’d say that compared to some of the other syndicates he was down right Mother Teresa. Only, maybe not when compared to Deathstroke. They were too similar for Jason to be entirely comfortable. Neither of them could claim to be good people, and yet Dick wasn’t willing to give up on either one of them, not like someone else might have so easily.

Jason sighed, it wasn’t really his place to question Slade or Dick, but someone should before Dick did something he’d regret.

Jason turned in the opposite direction and began the long journey back home. He flew through the rooftops, contemplating the night’s events. If it was true that Bruce knew about Dick and Slade, then Jason might just have to go see the Big Bad Bat, and see what he really thought about his precious golden boy dating a killer.

\----

Jason landed hard on his fire escape and pried open the window. He slipped inside and felt himself relax at the sight of the penthouse apartment he shared with Roy Harper.

“Hey, Jaybird,” Roy called from where he sat on the couch playing with Lian. They were playing some kind of card game that looked a little too much like poker. Lian held her cards in front of her face, which was expressionless, as she stared her father down. Roy held his cards a little bit lower so she could see the ridiculous expressions he made as he studied his hand. Jason smiled at them and made his way to the kitchen.

“Do we have anything for dinner?” He asked.

“Just take-out unless you want to make something.”

Jason nodded and pulled out a pot for spaghetti. He gathered the ingredients for meat sauce and began to boil water. He was silent for a long moment before deciding to confide in Roy.

“Hey, Roy?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you know Dick’s dating Slade Wilson?”

There was a sharp gasp and then silence from the other room. Jason heard footsteps and turned to see Roy standing in the doorway, a completely dumbfounded look on his face.

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah, I had to do a case with them tonight-”

“That private security deal? The one with the human traffickers and their mercenary army?”

“Yeah, that one. Anyway, I was working on it with them, and it all went smoothly, which, of course, is a first, but then we met up at the rendezvous, and Slade kissed Dick goodbye. And not like a peck on the cheek or some shit, but a full on scar me for life french style goodbye kiss,” Jason said, sounding a little desperate.

“Wow,” Roy said, dazed. “Isn’t that against his little holier than thou bat code?”

“No shit, and then he said it had been a long time coming. What the fuck does _that_ mean?”

Roy shrugged. “I mean, he isn’t wrong. They’ve sort of had a lot of weird unresolved sexual tension for a really long time. Slade used to hit on him a lot when we were younger, nothing ever happened, but I guess we’re all older now.”

“Not that much older! Dick’s twenty-two, he can barely drink legally. He shouldn’t be fooling around with freaking Deathstroke! I mean I’m pretty sure dating someone with that name alone breaks about every rule in Bruce’s little Robin handbook. I mean, you saw how he reacted when I came back, he’s got to be pissed about this.”

Roy didn’t argue.

Lian came wandering in and reached up for Jason, who picked her up and put her on his shoulders. Her little fingers went straight for his mess of black hair and set about tangling it up.

“So has he told Bruce?” Roy asked, idly stirring the spaghetti while Jason was occupied with keeping Lian from falling off his shoulders.

“He said he did, and that Bruce isn’t happy, but that’s all he said. I almost want to go talk to Bruce and ask him what he’s thinking letting Dick shack up with the likes of Slade.”

Roy shrugged. “Maybe you should,” he said.

Jason jerked around to look at him.

“What do you mean maybe I should?”

“I mean just that. In this particular case I think you and Bruce are probably on the same side. He probably hates this just as much as you do. If you guys work together maybe you can get Dick to see the error of his ways and put a stop to it before it ever really starts.”

Jason raised his brows. “That might be a great idea, Roy.”

Roy shrugged. “I do my best.” He moved the pot off the stove and drained the spaghetti. Jason put Lian down and got to work on the sauce.

When the food was finally ready Jason piled two plates high, and made a smaller plate for Lian. Roy set the table and they all sat down to eat.

“I’ll tell you one thing though,” Roy said around a bite of spaghetti, “you’d better hope Damian already knows.”

\----

Damian did not already know.

Jason, like an idiot, pulled into the Batcave, stormed up to Bruce, and just shouted, “What the fuck is up with Dick and Slade Wilson?”

Damian, who had been hidden behind his father’s cloak, stood up sharply.

“What? What are you talking about, Todd? Father? What is Todd talking about?”

Bruce sighed and rubbed his forehead. He shot Jason a small mostly weary glare.

“Dick and Slade are… involved,” he tried. Jason gave him points for effort, but it didn’t stop Damian’s face from purpling with anger.

“ _What!?_ And you allowed this? Father! How could you allow Deathstroke to defile Grayson!” Damian bellowed. Jason only felt a little bit bad. Damian was right after all, and Bruce deserved some sort of comeuppance for letting this happen.

“Damian-”

“What, Father? What could you possibly say that could excuse this outrage you’ve allowed to happen?”

“I didn’t allow him to do anything, he just did it, you know how he is.”

That didn’t placate Damian in the slightest. His little face was turning a truly fluorescent shade of puce.

“Still! He listens to you, and you could’ve stopped him!”

Alfred appeared out of nowhere and quickly made his way toward them.

“Master Damian, I suggest you come upstairs for dinner. Master Bruce and Master Jason need to have a private conversation,” Alfred said sharply, grabbing Damian’s wrist.

“Unhand me Pennyworth! I am not finished speaking!”  
“Damian!” Bruce snapped. “Go upstairs. Now.”

Damian huffed, spun sharply on his heel and stomped all the way out of the cave. Jason forgot how young he was sometimes. He forgot that Damian still threw tantrums like the child he was. Maybe Jason would’ve remembered if he was around more often.

Bruce and Jason faced each other in tense silence until the sounds of footsteps disappeared.

“I think he made some excellent points,” Jason said suddenly. “Like, for example, how the fuck could you let this happen?”

Bruce sighed and pulled the cowl off. Now, with the cowl down and Damian gone, Jason could finally see the stress in his shoulders, the lines in his forehead. He looked like he’d aged a decade in seconds.

“Like I said, I didn’t let him do anything. Dick never asked for my permission, he just informed me of his decision. When I tried to talk sense into him he brushed me off and just threw Selina in my face. I told him Selina never killed anyone, but he wasn’t having it. He said I didn’t have to like it, but that I couldn’t do anything about it, and he’s not wrong.” It was probably the most Bruce had spoken to him in a long time. Jason felt his defenses drop, and he slumped into a chair.

“I need to stop this,” he said. Bruce glanced at him.

“Why you?” He asked.

“Because- Because I just- Because he doesn’t understand that I-” Jason cut himself off. He sighed. “Because someone has to, and maybe he’ll listen to me.”

“No,” Bruce said.

“No?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you want him, and that’s why you want to stop it.”

Jason glared at him, “No, I don’t.”

“Yes you do, Jason, you always have. Only recognize that the reasons you’d give Dick for why he shouldn’t be with Slade are the same reasons why he shouldn’t be with you.”

Jason stood sharply. “You really are the most unbelievable ass,” he snarled. Bruce looked up at him.

“All the same, I’d rather he be with you. At least I wouldn’t worry about him if he were with you.”

Jason stood frozen, completely flabbergasted.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You’re not stupid Jason, don’t act like you are just because you don’t like what I say,” Bruce sighed.

Jason swallowed hard. Bruce wanted Dick to be with him. No- no he preferred Dick with him over Slade. That was an important distinction. Bruce didn’t approve of Jason, he was just the lesser of two evils. Jason nodded.

“Well, even I know I don’t deserve him, so I won’t insult you by saying I’m any better for him than Slade. I don’t think we’ll ever be together, but the least I can do is get him away from Slade,” Jason said decidedly. Bruce nodded, like it was exactly what he expected. It probably was.

“Just be careful with him Jason, he’s always been emotional, you know that.”

Jason nodded. He did know that, they all knew it.

“See you around, Bruce.” With those final words, Jason got back on his bike and rode out of the cave.

\----

It turned out that Jason saw Slade again before he saw Dick.

Jason was posing as Red Hood looking for a new drug supplier, and was waiting for a meeting with an up and coming distributor whose operation he was planning on dismantling. He was sitting in the VIP section of a very exclusive club for very bad people while waiting for his meeting, when Slade sat down next to him.

“Red,” Slade greeted. Jason honestly wasn’t sure if Slade knew who he was. Slade knew the Robin’s well simply on the principle of being one of their collective biggest foes, though he’d definitely had more run-in’s with Dick than anyone else. Jason wasn’t sure if Slade had ever recognized his fighting style (though this was unlikely given how much he learned while abroad after the pit), or if Dick had ever told him, but he never called Jason anything other than Red or Hood, and since he referred to the Robin’s generally by first name, Jason had to assume he didn’t know who he was.

“Wilson,” Jason snarled, not even bothering to hide his contempt.

“Dick told me you don’t approve,” Slade began. Jason snorted. That was an understatement.

“No shit,” Jason muttered.

“What I’d like to know is why your opinion matters. Dick wouldn’t tell me, so I thought I’d go to the source.”

That was mildly surprising.

“Fuck off, Wilson, that’s between me and Dick, and if he’s not telling you shit, I don’t know why you think I would.”

Slade gave him a considering look.

“I didn’t really think you will, but I had to ask. No one really knows who you are, so it’s mostly a mystery as to why the bats let you hang around given their general aversion to firearms and murder. I have a theory, of course.”

“Of course you do,” Jason sighed, taking a big swig of his beer.

“My theory is that Jason Todd didn’t actually die in that explosion. Somehow he got away, fooled Batman and the rest of the family into thinking he was dead, and then went off to become a psychopath. Of course, it’s just a theory,” Slade smirked. The fucker knew he was right, but Jason wasn’t about to encourage him. Jason’s greatest strength was the perfect anonymity his death had given him. He wasn’t about to give it up for Slade Wilson.

“Wow, Slade, how one man can be so close and yet so completely wrong I have no idea, but you’ve somehow managed it. I’m not the kid that got blown up by the Joker, shithead.” It was true, he wasn’t, that kid had been killed by a crowbar and a warehouse fire.

Slade looked a little miffed, but it wasn’t Jason’s job to contribute to his ego.

“Look, I’m going to be straight with you here since I don’t like you: Stay the fuck away from Dick Grayson before I make you,” Jason growled. Slade raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“No,” he said simply. Jason swiftly pulled out his gun and clicked off the safety.

“And why, pray tell, not?”

Slade was silent for a long moment. He watched Jason with a considering look, his eyes only minutely flickering down to the gun in Jason’s hand.

“Because I care about him, and I don’t want to let him go,” Slade finally replied. Jason could admit to being shocked, both with what Slade said and how bluntly he said it.

“That’s selfish.”

“I’m a mercenary, being selfish doesn’t even crack the top fifty on my list of sins.”

Jason couldn’t exactly argue with that logic.

“You don’t deserve him.”

“Certainly not, but I have him, and I’m not going to be the one to make him leave.”

“I’m going to shoot you.”

“Go ahead, but maybe later when you don’t have a position to compromise.”

Jason shot him anyway.

The bullet went straight into his abdomen. Slade honestly looked a little surprised, Jason noticed smugly. The patrons of the bar jumped, and looked around at them, but quickly returned to their drinks. This sort of thing happened all the time in this particular establishment.  
Jason smirked as he watched the wound sluggishly pump out dark red blood.

“Dammit, the bullet didn’t go all the way through,” Slade sighed. Jason snorted.

“I’m sure Dick would be happy to dig it out for you,” he shot back, taking another sip of beer. Slade glared at him, grabbed the knife off the table, and proceeded to dig the bullet out of his gut.

“He’s going to be pissed when I tell him about this,” Slade muttered.

“Let him be, he’s already pissed at me for existing,” Jason shot back. Slade glared at him again, and finally rooted out the bullet. He dropped it and the bloodied knife on the table, then stood. Jason watched in annoyance as his skin began to knit back together.

“Look, kid, I know you hate it, watching me have someone you obviously want-” Jason spluttered, ready to argue, but Slade cut him off, “but he’s mine now, and you need to be a grown up about it because for some reason you and your opinion matter to him. He’s better than all of us, you should really treat him like it more often. Maybe if you did, he’d be with you, not me.”

With that final wisdom Slade stalked away, leaving Jason red-faced and furious. Did everyone know he had a thing for Dick? Had he been that damn transparent?

He stood briskly from the table, and kicked down the door to the office of the supplier he was supposed to be meeting there. The man looked up from the paperwork he was filling out, and his eyes widened in surprise at seeing Jason there. Jason didn’t even bother with a witty remark, he simply pulled out his gun and unloaded in the man. He snatched the bloodied paperwork off his desk and stalked out of the bar, gun still in hand. A few security guards tried to stop him, and Jason grinned under his helmet. He holstered his gun and went in for a fist fight. He was in the mood for a good old fashioned beat down. The first guard that came at him was no bigger than a minute, and Jason had the man flipped and his neck broken within seconds. The second man who came after him met the unfortunate end of some of the bar’s finest silverware. The third man came after Jason with a gun, which Jason snatched from him, and then used to shoot out both knee caps before shooting the guy in the head. Jason threw the gun to the ground and made his way out of the bar. No one else tried to stop him.

\----

When he got back to his apartment that night Roy and Lian were nowhere to be seen, but Dick was sitting at his kitchen table in a pair of jeans and a worn blue sweatshirt. Jason sighed as soon as he saw him, and removed his helmet and domino mask. He knew Dick would just get mad if he left it on. He didn’t like talking to the helmet; it was the same with Bruce’s cowl. He really had all of them wrapped around his little finger. Even Slade Wilson, apparently.

“Slade told me what happened at the bar.”

Jason shrugged.

“I didn’t take him for a snitch,” he sniffed. Dick sighed.

“Jason, I know you don’t approve but you can’t just shoot him.”

“Why not?” Jason asked petulantly. Dick’s lips thinned.

“Because it’s wrong, and before you go and make a fuss about Slade’s wrongness, you can’t judge someone based on past actions.”

“Yes, you can Dick, that’s the whole fucking point of them.”

“I don’t judge you,” Dick said, unfairly in Jason’s opinion.

“Look, Dick, there’s a big leap between running a mob to keep all the really bad mobs out of Gotham, and killing people for money, even I know that. I know I’m no peach, but Slade’s a bad guy, Dick, and people like that don’t just reform. You can’t help him,” Jason protested. Dick shook his head.

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I think I do. You can’t reform me and I’m not half as nasty as Deathstroke.”  
Dick sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“You’re right, you’re not as bad as he is. This will probably end up being a huge mistake that ends in a world of hurt, but I think I have the right to make that mistake. I’m my own person Jason, and neither you nor Bruce can make my decisions for me.” His eyes blazed like blue fire, and Jason found himself cowed by their intensity. Dick was right, of course, he always was.

“I know, I just don’t want to see you hurt,” Jason muttered, looking away. Dick smiled softly at him. He reached across the table to grab Jason’s hands and uncrossed his arms for him.

“I know,” he said, holding Jason’s hands in his, “and I love you for that,” Jason’s heart skipped a beat, “but I need to see this through. As weird as it sounds, I care about Slade, and he cares about me. I’ve been in a lot of relationships where that hasn’t been the case. I deserve to see where this goes now that I’ve started it.”

Jason didn’t want to agree with him, but he couldn’t disagree, not when Dick was being so reasonable.

“Dickie, this is a terrible idea,” he pleaded. Dick smiled a sad little smile.

“I know,” he replied, unrepentant.

Jason sighed and pulled away. He leaned back in his chair and fingered the blood on his pants.

“I’ve got to change, want to stay for dinner?” He asked. Dick smiled brightly at him.

“Sounds awesome, what’re we having?” He asked. Jason stood up and grabbed the cordless phone from it’s charging station.

“Pizza, you call it in. Get me pepperoni.” He threw the cordless phone at Dick and walked off to his bedroom, ignoring the sound of Dick dialing.

Jason stripped off his uniform and threw it in the blood hamper. He and Roy each had two dirty clothes hampers. One for regular laundry, and one for bloody laundry. He made his way to the shower and turned the water on as hot as he could stand. He needed to burn the night off of himself. Dick knew being with Slade was wrong, knew that it was going to end in pain, but he didn’t care, no instead he wanted to see things through. Jason stepped under the spray and watched the pink tinted water swirl down the drain.

Only Dick Grayson could do something stupid on purpose and keep doing it just to see how it ended. Slade was unbelievably bad news, but it looked like Jason wasn’t going to get anywhere with that argument. Not when Dick knew and acknowledged that it was true.

Jason grabbed the soap and began to scrub himself clean. His traitorous cock began to stiffen at the attention, and the persistence of Dick in his thoughts didn’t help. Jason, just this once, just to get back at Dick for being so purposefully stupid, let his mind wander. He imagined Dick in his Nightwing suit, skin tight polymer sticking to his skin, showing off the best ass on earth. Jason imagined getting his hands on that ass, all clad in black bodycon, squeezing handfuls, and then pulling Dick sharply back to him. He would grind his cock into that ass, listen as Dick moaned in pleasure. He would pull down the suit’s zipper until it ended just above his ass, and pull the top of the suit completely off of Dick, exposing his cock to the cool air. He’d get his hands around Dick’s cock and stroke until Dick cried out, throwing his head back as he came. Then Jason would shove Dick down to his knees, and Dick would smirk up at him as he pulled Jason’s cock out of his pants. Jason would grab fistfulls of pitch black hair and fuck Dick’s face on his cock until he finally came, spilling himself down Dick’s throat. Of course he’d pull out at the last second and cover Dick’s face in his come. Jason imagined the look on Dick’s face, sated and satisfied, with fucked red lips and come clinging to his eyelashes, and came.

Jason slumped back in the shower, and let the water wash his shame down the drain. He looked up at the ceiling as his breathing returned to normal. He was still angry, and now a little bit ashamed. Dick made him crazy, there was no doubt about that. Maybe it would be better if he avoided him while Dick was with Slade.

The thought only lasted a second. He knew he could never leave Dick alone, not ever, and certainly not now that he was letting Slade in close. Jason was resigned to his fate to forever be one step behind Dick’s many, many conquests. He didn’t even know if he wanted to be part of that whole situation; that toxic will they won’t they relationship that Dick seemed so fond of. He just wanted Dick. He wanted to live in his space, to make him dinner and patch him up after patrol. He wanted to be happy, but he was Jason Todd, and he knew better than to believe in happy.

\----

Jason walked back out into the living room dressed in sweatpants and a worn red t-shirt. Dick smiled at him when he walked in. Dick was sitting in front of the TV, which was turned to a sitcom that had ended a few years prior. He liked watching comedy shows, he said they were something he didn’t have to worry about.

Jason sat down next to him and laid back. He spread one out along the back of the couch, Dick just beyond his reach.

“Which one’s this one?” He asked.

“Karen’s supposed to write an essay on friendship for her psychology class, but all her friends are idiots,” Dick replied. Jason nodded, he remembered this show well. It had been one of his mother’s favorites. She used to put it on a lot while she got high.

“Oh, yeah, I remember this one. Sort of a shitty episode,” he said. Dick snorted.

“Better than a cop drama, which is the only other thing on right now.”

“Fair enough. I don’t think there’s anything I hate more than a cop drama.”

“A vigilante drama?”

“Okay, you got me.”

Dick laughed and leaned back. If Jason reached just a little bit further he could probably brush Dick’s hair.

Before he could gather the courage to try, the doorbell rang, and Dick stood up to pay the pizza guy. He brought the pizza back to the couch complete with paper plates and napkins.

“Want something to drink?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’ll have to grab it though. I hide the booze so Roy doesn’t see it,” Jason said. He stood up and went back to his room to grab a bottle of whiskey. It was the only alcohol in the apartment, and it was mostly for emergencies. He’d used a bit of it to clean out a bullet wound, but there was plenty left for two people. It was a big bottle.

He brought the bottle back and noticed that Dick had grabbed two glasses from the kitchen. He filled them both a third of the way and grabbed a slice of pepperoni. Dick dug into the other box and pulled out an absolute monstrosity of a slice covered in a dozen different toppings. Jason snorted.

“I don’t know how you keep that perfect ass of yours with a diet like that,” he muttered. Dick raised a brow at him.

“It’s because my ass is magic,” he said.

“I’m sure Slade would agree,” Jason shot back. Dick made an afronted noise and smacked his arm. Jason just laughed.

“All right, drink up, magic ass.” Jason handed Dick the drink, which he shot back in one swallow. Jason willed himself not to get hard.

“Oh, I see, it’s going to be like that, is it?” Jason asked. Dick smirked at him, and Jason grinned back. He shot back his own drink and refilled the glasses.

The pizza boxes emptied slowly, while the bottle of whiskey emptied much more quickly. Jason poured himself the last of the whiskey and shot it back while Dick watched with rapt attention. When Jason finished it off Dick cheered and laughed. He was shit at holding his liquor, and was already very tipsy. Jason was made of sterner stuff, and so he was a little more coherent, but not by much.

“You know when you swallow your adam’s apple goes up and down and up,” Dick laughed, demonstrating with his finger, his eyes on Jason’s neck.

“Yeah, that’s sorta how it works, Dickie,” Jason slurred. Dick giggled, and put his finger on Jason’s neck.

“Do it again,” he said. Jason swallowed obediently and Dick laughed, his finger following the movement up and down Jason’s neck. Jason felt his cheeks flush and his cock start to stiffen.  
“Get off,” he grumbled, shoving Dick’s hand away. Dick rolled his eyes as he listed a little to the side.

“Y’know you grew up really well,” Dick said suddenly. He put his hands on his hips and looked Jason up and down.

“You’re so tall,” he muttered petulantly. “It’s not fair, I don’t know why I never got tall, but I never did! Everyone’s taller than me. Except Tim, of course.”

Jason choked on a laugh. “Tim’s a fuckin’ hobbit, Dick, no one’s shorter than him. Oh wait, fuck, am I taller than Slade?” He asked. Dick considered him for a long moment.

“No,” he said finally.

“Fucker.”

Dick shrugged. “Sorry, buddy, but he’s like a million feet tall, don’t tell anyone, but I have to go on my tippy toes to kiss him, isn’t tha’ weird?” He asked. Jason nodded vigorously.

“Really weird, you should date someone shorter, like me,” he said, then froze. He hadn’t meant to say that outloud. Dick giggled. He crawled toward Jason and stopped to kneel in front of him.

“I should date you, huh? I dunno Jay, aren’t we sorta like brothers?” He asked. Jason, for some ungodly reason, shook his head.

“No, Bruce didn’t adopt you until after I died, plus I was dead, I barely lived with Bruce for like two, no three, no two, no- fucking whatever, it wasn’t long. Plus we’re not actually related,” he explained. Dick thought carefully about that, and nodded decidedly.

“Good point,” he said. Then he grabbed Jason’s shoulders and pulled him close.

“I think I’m gonna kiss you,” he said softly, looking down at Jason’s mouth. Jason licked his lips and Dick’s eyes followed the movement.

“Okay,” Jason said. Dick smiled and moved forward. He pressed his lips to Jason’s, and kissed him hard and deep. Jason grabbed his hips and pulled him forward sharply, so he was sitting in Jason’s lap. Jason grabbed two handfuls of Dick’s ass, and kissed back, shoving his tongue in Dick’s mouth. Dick moaned and sucked on Jason’s tongue. He smiled into the kiss and pressed forward, pressing his hard cock into Jason’s stomach. Jason pulled him down hard, and ground up into his ass. Dick moaned and threw his head back at the sensation. Jason immediately attacked his neck, kissing and sucking at it. Suddenly Dick stopped moving. Jason, undeterred, kept sucking at his neck. Dick shoved him back, and leapt off the couch. He stood with wide eyes, and his hand against his mouth. Jason looked up at him confusedly, before realization dawned on him.

“I have to go,” Dick said quietly. Jason shook his head, which was sobering quickly and ruthlessly.

“Not in this state. Take my room, I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said. Dick nodded and walked off, not sparing Jason another glance.

Jason laid back against the couch, and even in his inebriated state he could understand the horror of what had happened there. He’d kissed Dick, no- _Dick_ had kissed _him_.

Only Dick was with Slade, and Slade would not be happy when he found out about this. Jason felt terror strike through his heart. What if Slade got really mad? What if he hurt Dick? What if he killed him?

Jason forced himself to swallow down those thoughts. Slade wouldn’t kill Dick, by his own admission he cared about him. If he wouldn’t kill Dick before they’d started dating, he sure as hell wasn’t going to now. Jason forced his eyes closed. He needed to sleep off the alcohol.

Jesus, no wonder Roy got off the sauce. It was nothing but trouble and regret.

\----

When Jason got up the next morning Dick was gone.

He wasn’t surprised.

Jason spent the day in his apartment. He watched shitty TV and ate Dick’s leftover pizza, which, for all it’s weird toppings, was surprisingly tasty.

Roy got home later in the day, carrying groceries in one hand and Lian in the other.

“So, did you see Dick last night?” He asked as he began taking out the cold things for Lian to put in the fridge.

“What?” Jason asked, jerking upright and nearly dropping his pizza. Roy looked over at him and his eyebrows shot into his hairline.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“Swear jar, daddy.”  
“Sorry, pumpkin.” Roy fished a dollar out of his wallet and put it in the jar marked ‘Lian’s Candy Fund.’

“Dick and I made out on the couch,” Jason muttered. Roy dropped the pickle jar, which shattered against the countertop and spilled pickle juice everywhere.

“Shit, fucking dammit,” he snapped.

“Daddy.”

“Yeah, I know kiddo.” He grabbed a stack of paper towels and swept the whole mess into the garbage. Then he fished four dollars out of his pocket and threw them in the jar. Fuck was a _very_ bad word, so it meant two dollars in the jar.

Roy sprayed the counter and wiped away the sticky pickle juice residue, then turned to Lian.

“Honey, Daddy and Jason need to have an adult conversation, why don’t you go to your room and play with your dollies, okay?”

Lian looked at him suspiciously. She probably thought he didn’t want her there so he didn’t have to donate the entire remaining contents of his wallet to the swear jar.

She wasn’t wrong.

“ _Fine,_ ” she sighed dramatically. She made her way out of the kitchen, and it wasn’t until he heard her bedroom door close that Roy reacted.

“ _What the shit, Jason!?”_ he hissed. “The fuck do you mean you and Dick made out on the couch? The same fucking Dick that’s dating fucking _Deathstroke!?_ The man whose name literally means fucking killing blow!? God dammit Jason, he’s going to come here to fucking kill you! Dammit! He’s going to come _here_ to fucking kill you! He knows where you live! He’s going to kill me and Lian! Dammit Jason if Deathstroke comes here to kill me and Lian because you couldn’t keep it in your fucking pants around Dick fucking Grayson, I’m going to kill you!”

Jason blinked up at Roy.

“You owe twenty dollars to the swear jar,” he said. Roy’s face turned the same shade of red as his hair. Jason watched it with fascination.

“Jason!”

“What?”  
“You fucking macked on Deathstroke’s fucking boyfriend!”

“Twenty-four dollars.”

Roy let out a frustrated noise and snatched his wallet off the counter. He fished twenty-four dollars out of his wallet and shoved them into the jar. Then he turned back to Jason. His face was now redder than his hair.

“Jason!”

“Look, Roy, I know, okay? I fucked up. We were drunk, and he was talking about how Slade’s really tall and he has to stand on his tippy toes to kiss him, and I said you should date someone shorter like me, and he was like okay, and he fucking kissed me,” Jason’s voice got very high pitched toward the end, and Roy couldn’t stifle his laughter.

“Shut up fucker! This is serious! Deathstroke’s going to fucking kill me!”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Now he’s worried. By the way that’s six dollars, shithead,” he realized what he’d said and rolled his eyes. “Dammit.”

Jason pulled out six dollars and Roy grabbed another two.

“Look, my advice is to stay out of their way. Dick’s going to tell Slade, you know he is, and when he does you probably don’t want to be within a mile of either of them, so I suggest staying home tonight.”

Jason shook his head.

“What if he hurts Dick?”

It was on the tip of Roy’s tongue to say he’d brought it upon himself, but he didn’t. That would be needlessly cruel and Jason didn’t need it right now.

“Watch from a distance. Keep an eye on them, but keep out of their way. Got it? You don’t want to be in the middle of that argument.”

Jason nodded.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I usually am, now put that pizza down, it’s my turn to make dinner tonight and you’re not getting out of it by claiming to be full.”

\----

That night Jason kept to the shadows as he made his way to Dick’s side of town. He hadn’t heard any chatter of Nightwing out on the streets, and he was a little worried that Slade had hurt Dick so badly he couldn’t go out.

Jason made his way slowly to Dick’s building and jumped down softly onto the fire escape. He crept down the side of the building until he reached Dick’s floor. He rolled his eyes again at how shitty Dick’s apartment was. He insisted on living off of a cop’s salary, even though his millions of dollars inheritence was tucked nice and tight in his bank account. Jason looked through the window to the living room, but he didn’t see anyone. He jimmied open the window and slipped inside. Dick might be laid up in bed, or cleaning a wound in the bathroom. Better safe than sorry.

Jason crept through the apartment in the direction of the bedroom before he heard something that made his heart stop.

Somebody, Dick, cried out, and something slammed into the wall.

Jason quickened his step and made his way to the bedroom, where he peeked through the crack in the door.

What he saw made his stomach sink.

Dick was laying on the bed, ass up in the air, as Slade slammed into him from behind so hard the bed smacked into the wall. Dick moaned and Slade wrapped a hand around his throat, pulling him up until his back was flushed with Slade’s massive chest. Slade’s hand tightened on Dick’s throat and Jason’s hands tightened to fists, despite Dick’s moan.

“That’s it Dick, you’re going to act like a slut then I’m going to treat you like one.” He gave a particularly vicious thrust and Dick cried out as he came, untouched. Jason’s cheeks flushed as Dick leaned back into Slade, panting. He was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and his body was flushed red from exertion. Slade pulled out carelessly and Dick moaned, dropping forward onto the bed. Slade turned him around, and Dick sat up. Slade stroked his cock hard and fast and let out a long moan as his orgasm hit him, his come covering Dick’s face. Dick’s eyes, lust blown and vividly blue, shot open as he looked up at Slade. Slade smiled down at him, and took Dick’s face in his hands. He kissed him hard and claiming.

“You’re mine, pretty bird, and don’t you forget it,” he hissed. Dick could only nod.

Jason didn’t need to see any more. Heart in his stomach, he turned on his heel and slipped out as quietly as he’d arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

Jason didn’t really want to leave his room, but Lian got tired of shouting at him through the door, so she walked in,put her hands on her hips, and said, “I want to spend my candy money.”

“Great, go tell your father,” Jason muttered, not looking up from his book. Nothing healed a broken heart like Jane Austen, or irony, apparently. Not that his heart was broken, of course, just a little bruised.

Lian cocked her hip and pouted.

Jason put the book up in front of his face, blocking her from his view.

He felt the bed shift as she crawled up onto it. He looked down and saw her striped black and white legging covered knees. He put the book down, and her face was mere inches from his. Her lower lip jutted out in an obnoxious pout, and Jason sighed.

“Dammit, Lian.”

“And there’s another dollar to add to my candy allowance.”

Jason sighed again.

“All right, fine. How much money do you have in there anyway?”

“Forty seven dollars,” Lian replied, her face splitting into a huge grin. Jason snorted. He really wasn’t surprised. Especially after he and Roy had donated thirty-six dollars the other night. That night.

“Well it sounds like with that kinda cash we can get more than just candy. I’m thinking cake, ice cream sundaes, the whole nine. How’s that sound?” Because, really, nothing cured a broken heart quite like a sugar rush. Again, not that his heart was broken or anything.

Lian cheered and jumped up and down.

“Yes! That sounds awesome!”

“Great, we just can’t tell your dad. Let’s go.” Jason put his book down and pulled on his boots. He grabbed his jacket, Lian grabbed the money from her jar, and off they went.

They stopped at the grocery store down the street. They grabbed cake mix, two cans of frosting, neapolitan ice cream, and a whole array of toppings. The whole lot of it only cost forty-two dollars so Jason gave the rest of it back to Lian to put back in her jar for next time. They toted their bags back to the apartment and set up everything on the table.

“Ok, I’m thinking small ice cream sundaes while we make the cake, and then cake and ice cream after dinner? Or for dinner, I’m not picky,” Jason said. Lian grinned.

“I think that sounds awesome.”

Jason held his hand up for a high five and Lian smacked it. Jason gave Lian the bowls and the scooper and let her handle the ice cream sundaes while he set about starting the cake. He poured the cake mixture in, then grabbed three eggs from the fridge, and cracked them carefully into the bowl. He mixed in the water and oil then grabbed two cake pans from the back of the pantry. He buttered them, and Lian helped him fill them both half way. Then they put the pans in the oven and sat together at the counter to enjoy their sundaes. Lian’s was covered in different kinds of syrups and was littered with sprinkles and m&m’s. For Jason she’d gone for the more conservative approach of sprinkles, lots of whipped cream, and a cherry. Jason dug in and munched happily on the sprinkles that caught between his teeth. He took a dollop of whipped cream onto his finger and swiped it on to Lian’s nose. She giggled and tried to lick it off with her tongue. Jason snorted as she gave up and wiped it off.

The cakes beeped a little less than half an hour later, and Jason took them out of the oven to cool off. He and Lian finished their sundaes in front of the TV, then went to finish the cake.

Roy got home about half way through icing the cake. Jason had frosting in his hair, and Lian’s pretty white Scooby-Doo t-shirt was covered in pink and red frosting. Lian had decided she wanted a colored cake and had decided on red because it was Roy and Jason’s color, and pink because it was her favorite color.

Jason was certain the dye wasn’t going to come out of her shirt.

Roy took one look at the two of them and sighed.

“If I can’t get her up before noon tomorrow, you’re going to have to deal with her,” he said. Jason shrugged, and Roy rolled his eyes. They went back to frosting their cake.

Once it was covered with red icing, Lian did a Red Hood symbol on top in pink, with an Arsenal symbol in the middle in red. She then covered it in red and pink sprinkles, and Jason dutifully cut them both a reasonably sized slice.

Roy walked in while they were eating and cut himself a smaller slice. He wasn’t big on sweets. Once they were finished Roy washed the dishes and Lian and Jason migrated to the couch to watch one of those loud and confusing action movies she couldn’t get enough of. She fell asleep halfway through, cuddled into Jason’s side.

Roy sat down heavily on the other side of the couch and turned the volume down on the TV.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.

“There’s nothing to talk about. He’s not single. I knew that, and besides, he doesn’t have a thing for me, clearly, and I didn’t even really have a thing for him to begin with. I think it was just misplaced jealousy about the fact that he’d let someone like Slade into his life instead of me.”

Roy didn’t look convinced. Jason didn’t blame him, he hadn’t been very convincing. He didn’t know how he’d felt about Dick before, he hadn’t really thought about it too much, but that didn’t matter anymore, because he knew how he felt now. He cared about Dick, a lot, and he wanted to be in a relationship with him, but not at the expense of his happiness, even if Slade Wilson was the one making him happy.

Roy sighed. “Whatever you say, Jaybird.”

\----

It was inevitable that strife would arise between Dick and Slade. Simply because of their differing moral philosophies if nothing else. It wasn’t like they disagreed on something small like chunky or smooth peanut butter, or cool ranch versus nacho cheese flavored doritos, no they disagreed on whether or not killing was acceptable. Everyone knew it was going to be a problem, but they’d been so caught up with weather or not Slade was going to hurt Dick, that they hadn’t even stopped to think about what would happen the next time he killed someone for money.

It wasn’t pretty.

Slade had been offered an independent contract on the life of a slightly crooked senator from Alabama. He’d taken the million dollars, shot the man from a hundred feet away, and called it a day. When he’d gotten home the next night Dick had already known. They’d fought and screamed and yelled the apartment down. They’d gotten more noise complaints in one night than any of the other tenants combined. A lot was said, but these were the highlights:

“This is never going to work is it?” Dick asked, not even bothering to hide the tears in his eyes. Slade glared at him from where he stood, still packed duffle bag in hand.

“Not if this is how you’re going to react every time I take a job. This is my life, Dick, you’re not enough for me to give it up.”

“Fucking go then! Go and understand that it was entirely your fault. I was willing to compromise, but you weren’t and _that’s_ why this didn’t work. Because you won’t change, you never will. Good luck getting anyone worth a damn to love you, because you’re going to be hard pressed to find someone willing to put up with all your bullshit,” Dick snapped.

Slade stormed up to him, stopping just shy of Dick’s feet.

“You’re one to fucking talk, Grayson. You with your enormous Bat complex, and your fucking monstrous daddy issues. Not to mention that night when you kissed Red Hood. I should’ve known, honestly, that someone like you was going to end up being a whore.”

“Someone like me?” Dick asked, barely keeping his voice from shaking.

“Yeah, a spoiled pampered little rich boy. The only reason anyone ever wants you is your ass, because frankly, the personality makes it kind of hard to stay. I should’ve known someone with a body like that would be nothing more than a really good lay.”  
Dick punched Slade hard, a sharp right hook straight into his jaw. Slade stumbled back and stared at Dick. He didn’t dare reciprocate. He hit harder and they both knew it. Besides, all this aside, he still cared about Dick.

“No one’s ever going to love you if you say shit like that,” Dick said, his voice quiet and sad. Slade swallowed hard.

“Certainly not you, right?”

Dick looked away. Slade sighed and stepped closer once again, this time all the fight drained out of him. He cupped Dick’s chin with his hands and tilted his face up. He kissed Dick lightly on the lips, and Dick kissed him back just as gently.

“I’m sorry,” Slade whispered into the kiss.

“Me too,” Dick replied. He wrapped his arms around Slade’s neck and just held him in a hug for a long, long time.

\----

The next night Jason met Dick at a bar in downtown Gotham. It was small and out of the way, so no paparazzi had found him yet. He was wearing sunglasses and nursing something fruity with an umbrella.

“Hey,” Jason said, sliding in next to him.

“Hey,” Dick muttered. Jason couldn’t tell yet if he was drunk, but he was willing to bet that he was.

“I heard about Slade,” Jason continued.

“Not going to tell me I told you so?”

“You don’t need to hear it.”

Dick took another long sip of his drink.

“I knew it was going to happen,” he muttered miserably. “He told me he was going to keep taking jobs, but I was so confident that I could change him. I was so sure I would be enough. He said I wasn’t, you know. He said I wasn’t enough to change him. He said a lot of things,” Dick mumbled into his straw. Jason raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“What did he say?”

“Nothing you need to hear.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Just drop it, Jay. It’s over and done with. I just need to wallow in my misery a minute and move on.”

Jason sighed. He wasn’t sure wallowing was what Dick needed, but at least he couldn’t hurt anybody like this. He was nearly catatonic he was so sad, but it was the kind of sad that would pass. He hadn’t been in love with Slade, Jason was sure. There hadn’t been time. Dick fell hard and fast, but this was Slade they were talking about, surely Dick couldn’t have fallen for him, right?

“What we need to do is find you a rebound,” Jason said, surveying the bars prospects. Dick looked up at that, but he was having a hard time keeping one eye open and Jason frowned.

“Okay, maybe tomorrow then. Not right now.”

Dick looked at him for a long time.

“Rebound?” He asked. Jason shrugged.

“Not tonight, though.”

Dick nodded. Then he surged off his stool and crashed his lips into Jason’s. Before Jason could even get his bearings, Dick had moved off the stool and into Jason’s lap. Jason caught himself on the bartop before he toppled both of them off the stool. Once he regained his balance he caught Dick’s face between his hands and shoved him away.

“Get off, Dick!” He snapped. Dick jumped back, and looked at him wide-eyed.

“Jason-”

“What the fuck, Dick? I’m here to help you! Not to be used as your personal fucking rebound sex doll. Find someone else to fuck you stupid, but not me, and not while you’re drunk. Got me?”

Dick looked away and nodded his head. There were tears gathering in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted you,” he said. Jason sighed. Sure, Dick wanted him at the moment, but he only ever seemed to want Jason when he was drunk, and that wasn’t anything real as far as Jason was concerned.

“Yeah, whatever.” Jason shoved off his stool, and walked away. He didn’t owe Dick an explanation, and it wasn’t his job to pick Dick’s broken heart up off the floor. Jason had a crush, sure, but he wasn’t the kind of man to become the indentured servant of the person he was infatuated with. If Dick wanted a pity rebound fuck he’d have to find it somewhere else. Jason had been part of enough dubiously consensual sex when he was younger, he didn’t need any of it from the likes of Dick Grayson, sloppy drunk extraordinaire.

He walked out into the cool Gotham night, and only felt a little bit bad about leaving Dick to his own devices. But Dick was a big boy, and he could handle himself just fine.

\----

When Jason got back to the apartment alone and completely sober, Roy gave him a very disapproving frown.

“What?” Jason asked, annoyed.

“If he does something stupid it’ll be your fault.”

“No it fucking won’t. He’s a grown ass man, he can make his own damn decisions, and to quote him, he can make his own damn mistakes.” Jason shoved past Roy in the direction of his bedroom. He was really regretting drinking his emergency whiskey with Dick.

“You’re supposed to be looking out for him Jay.”  
“Yeah, well, I’m not his fucking father, Bruce is.”

“Because he’s so likely to get compassion from a man like Bruce.”  
“Then, I don’t know, he can go talk to fucking Clark Kent! Clark’s fucked Bruce so many times they’re practically married now anyway. Fucking dad number two for the golden boy.”

Roy frowned.

“This isn’t like you Jason, what happened?”

“He tried to hook up with me while he was drunk as a rebound fuck, that’s what fucking happened.”

Roy ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

“All right, Lian’s at Jade’s tonight. No alcohol, but I can make us ice cream sundaes?”

Jason couldn’t help the smile that snuck on his face.   
“Big bad Arsenal’s going to make me an ice cream sundae?”

“We still have some of that sparkly pink Red Hood cake, if you’d prefer that?”

“Touché.”

Roy made them sundaes, and used the last two slices of the sparkly pink cake as a topping, and Jason let himself drown his sorrows in sugar. Better than whiskey, he supposed.

\----

Jason didn’t hear about Dick and Raptor until three days after it happened. He was in Gotham, doing his level best to avoid calling in for bat help on his latest case, but he could only hold off for so long, and so finally he called Tim for backup. He’d called Dick first, but Dick wasn’t answering.

“Hey there replacement,” Jason said when the dial tone ended in a click and Tim spoke a scratchy ‘Hello?’ into the receiver.

“What do you want, Jason?” He asked.

“I need help with this drug case I’m working on. I need to hit a shipment tomorrow night and I was looking for some backup. Is Dick around? He wasn’t answering his phone.”

Tim sucked in a breath, and Jason felt his heart drop to his stomach. He idly wondered if maybe Slade had come back, more hurt than ever, and done something awful. He wasn’t even sort of expecting what Tim said next.

“Dick had a, uh- a run in with Raptor. He was in the hospital. I think he’s back at his apartment now, if you want to see him.”

Jason felt his blood run cold.

“What the fuck are you talking about? What do you mean he was in the hospital? What happened?”

“Just go see him Jason. I’ll help you with the bust tomorrow, just send me the information.” A dial tone began to sound. Tim had hung up without so much as a goodbye.

Jason didn’t even bother wasting time being offended. He quickly swung off into the night and headed straight for Dick’s apartment. He made it there in record time, and was both gratified and irritated at how easy it was to break into Dick’s apartment. The lights were off in the living room, and the kitchen housed a sink piled high with unwashed cereal bowls. Jason made his way toward the bedroom, and knocked lightly.

“Who is it?” Came a sleep worn voice.

“It’s Jason.”

There was a moment of indecision and then, “Come in.”

Jason opened the door slowly. Dick was just sitting up when he walked in. When finally Dick turned to look at him, Jason’s fist tightened on the door so hard the handle creaked.

Dick’s face was as black and blue as his uniform. He was wearing sweats and long sleeves, but Jason was willing to bet there was more damage beneath them. He moved quickly to the side of the bed, and took Dick’s bruised knuckles in his hands.

“What the hell happened to you?” He asked. Dick sighed.

“I was an idiot, that’s what happened. I was working this theft thing, a crooked circus owner was using his employees to steal things from the circus’ stops, and Raptor was there for some reason, he wouldn’t even tell me _why,_ and really I should’ve guessed something awful, but he helped me on the case, and it was right after Slade and I broke up, and even you said I needed a rebound.”

Jason didn’t like where this was going at all.

“Anyway, I slept with him, only he was still pissed at me from that ring of thieves he was putting together that I broke up last year, and he tried to kill me while I was asleep. I woke up in time, but he had the upper hand. At least in the beginning. I evened the score eventually.”

Jason’s stomach dropped. He couldn’t believe that Roy had been right. Dick _had_ gone and done something stupid, something phenomenally stupid. He’d gone and slept with Raptor, another older morally ambiguous bad news asshole that no one in their right mind would ever step near. Roy had told Jason that if Dick did anything stupid after Jason left him to his own devices that it would be Jason’s fault. Jason didn’t want that to be true, but the way he was feeling now was all he needed to know that it was, in fact, true.

“Dickie, Raptor? Of all people? He’s bad, Dick, he’s just a really, really bad guy. You shouldn’t have been anywhere near him.”

Dick sighed. “I know. I know that now, I knew that then. I was just… I was just lonely, and hurting. I was just stupid.”

Jason shook his head. He climbed onto the bed, and pulled Dick into a hug.

“You aren’t stupid Dick, you were just hurt. This is my fault anyway, I should’ve never left you alone. We all know how you get.”

“How I get?” Dick asked from his place at Jason’s neck.   
“Yeah, you know, emotional with little to no inhibitions? Bruce told me to look after you and I didn’t. This is all my fucking fault.”

Dick moved sharply out of Jason’s embrace.

“I can take care of myself, Jason. I’m not some silly little fragile kid who needs protecting. I know how to take care of myself, and I’m perfectly fine with being by myself. I’m used to it,” he snapped. Jason sighed. He didn’t want to fight.

“It doesn’t matter what you are or aren’t used to, Dick. You shouldn’t have to deal with this on your own. I shouldn’t have left you sad and alone at the bar. Nobody should have to be alone after something like that, or something like this. Just take the comfort, dumbass. I don’t offer it lightly.”

Dick’s lips thinned into a frown, but he relented and moved back into the circle of Jason’s arms.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“Cereal a little while ago.”

“So no then. I’ll make dinner, we can watch a movie or something, sound good?” Jason asked. Dick nodded into his neck.

“Yeah,” he said. “Sounds good.”

\----

They began a weekly tradition, of sorts. Every friday night Jason would go to Dick’s house and they’d cook dinner and watch a movie. There was no alcohol involved anymore; they were staying far away from that danger zone. Jason made all sorts of dishes, but they were mostly limited to easy things, like chicken or fish or pasta. He never made anything that took too long, because their tradition sort of consisted of only a few hours. They were still being delicate with one another.

Jason was trying to decide whether or not to make a move on Dick. Dick was single, and he’d already had his rebound, sorta, so technically it was Jason’s time to shine. Only Dick’s break up had been messy, and his rebound had tried to kill him. Jason wasn’t sure if there was a grace period for that kind of trauma, but he was willing to bet there was. Only how long? How long was it acceptable for him to wait before he made his move? He was getting tired of sitting on the sidelines, watching Dick date and date and never find the right person. Jason was willing to try to be the right person. He was pretty sure he was Dick’s type. Tall dark and criminally inclined, only unlike Dick’s last two conquests, Jason was willing to compromise on his morals for the sake of keeping Dick Grayson at his side.

Finally Jason decided he’d done enough waiting. It was just over a month after the Raptor dilema. It was their fifth movie night so far, and Jason was pulling out all the stops this time. He was making salmon with roasted vegetables and a small side of rice pilaf. Practically a perfect romantic dinner in his eyes. He’d decided on mille-feuille from Dick’s favorite bakery for dessert. He wanted to go about this the right way. He wanted Dick to know he was serious. They’d never done dessert before, but Jason was planning on asking him on a proper date, and they’d never done one of those before either.

Jason set the table the way Alfred had taught him, and lit candles he’d found in a box marked ‘Thanksgiving Stuff’ in the bowels of his apartment. He forced the butterflies in his stomach to shut the hell up, and plated the dinner he’d so carefully prepared. He set out the food, and called for Dick.

Dick came from the bedroom in sweatpants and a t-shirt and holding his phone, the usual attire for their movie nights.

“This looks great, Jay, I can’t wait to try it.”

“Yeah I’m experimenting a little. And I got a surprise for you later, too,” Jason smiled a little stupidly, but Dick didn’t seem to mind. Dick set his phone down on the table and dug in. Jason followed closely behind and was gratified to hear Dick moan at the taste of the salmon.

“Jason, this is orgasmic,” he said all too seriously. Jason laughed shortly and willed the stiffening in his pants to calm down. They’d barely even started dinner.

Dick’s phone lit up and he glanced at it, smiled, and shut it off. When he shut it off the smile lingered.

“Tim?” Jason asked around a mouthful of rice.

“Oh, uh, no, John Constantine, actually. I worked with him last week on a possession-slash-human trafficking thing,” Dick replied, taking a bite of the vegetables. Jason frowned at his fork.

“John Constantine?”

“Yeah, we’ve met up a couple times since then. He’s ridiculous, but in a good way of course.”

Jason felt a growing unease in the pit of his stomach.

“Are you guys, like, together?” He asked, praying to every god he could think of that the answer was no.

“No,” Dick said. Jason felt relief flood his body.

“I mean- not really? We’re sort of just friends with benefits-ish,” Dick continued. Jason felt a lump form in his throat. His blood seemed to slow and freeze like ice in his veins. Dread filled his stomach and he looked up warily.

“What?” He asked, his chest tightening. He forced himself to breathe.

“Yeah, I’m not really ready for a relationship right now, and John’s not really the relationship kind anyway, but we’re having fun, so I guess that’s all that matters, right?”

“Right,” Jason felt like he was having an out of body experience. He could hear himself talking, he could see Dick responding with laughs or smiles, but he couldn’t remember a single thing that was said. Dick had already found someone new. A week ago. _A week ago._ Jason had missed this small window of opportunity by a week because he was trying to be a gentleman. That just went to show what being a gentleman got you in the end. Nothing but heartache. Which was probably why the assholes of the world were never single.

He watched as Dick finished the meal. He wasn’t hungry anymore, but kept eating to keep up appearances. He couldn’t believe he’d missed his chance. Maybe his only chance. Now Dick was with Constantine, and who knew how long that would last? Friends with benefits wasn’t anything permanent, but it was also something he could’ve asked of Jason, and he hadn’t. He’d gone to Constantine, because he didn’t like Jason like that. Or maybe he cared about him too much to sully their friendship with meaningless sex? Either way it didn’t matter, because the jist of it was that Dick considered them friends, and he was having sex with someone else. Again.

Jason suddenly felt sick. He put his fork down and noticed idly that he’d finished almost the whole meal. Dick stretched and rubbed his belly.

“That was probably the best meal I’ve had in ages, you really outdid yourself Jay,” Dick smiled. Jason smiled back. He felt like a puppet on strings, doing as he was told.

“Thanks,” he replied.

“So? What’s the surprise?” Dick asked.

“Huh?”

“The surprise? You told me earlier you had one for me?”

“Oh, right, that. Uh- I got HBO GO so we can finally start Game of Thrones if you want?”

Dick’s smile shone brighter than the candles.

“That sounds perfect. Just what I needed. Do you want to set it up while I clear the plates?”

“No, that’s all right, I’ve got them. You just head to the couch and turn it on, it should already be queued up.”

“Sweet,” Dick said. He jumped from his chair and headed to the living room. Jason grabbed the plates and thrust them in the sink haphazardly, not even bothering to rinse them off. He glanced over at the bakery box and felt a lump in the back of his throat.

He threw the mille-feuille in the trash, and went to watch TV with Dick.

He spent the entire night hating every character for their British accent, and sent Dick home after only one episode.

\----

Jason ended up on a job with Constantine and Dick, because, of course he did. It was a few weeks after the dinner Jason could hardly remember, and it had turned into a Constantine issue because it turned out that the little girl who they were trying to save from kidnappers had orchestrated her own kidnapping because she was possessed by a demon called Dave who was strapped for cash, because, of course she was.  
Dick and Jason had her strapped down on her bed while she screamed and fussed and snarled Linda Blair style. Jason decided that if she puked on him he was going to leave Dick to go it alone.

“Don’t worry, I’ll call John, he’ll take care of this easy,” Dick said, already dialing. Jason didn’t even get the chance to suggest they figure it out on their own, not that they could. Possession was sort of a niche market, and not really something you learned in five minutes.

Dick hung up the phone and thirty minutes later Constantine was ringing the doorbell. The parents of the little girl let him in, and Jason felt the pit in his stomach grow every second the footsteps grew closer. Finally the door opened to reveal the one and only John Constantine. A generally unimpressive blonde man, who was just a little bit taller than Dick and a little bit shorter than Jason, in a massive slightly ragged tan overcoat.

“Top o’ love,” he said, pulling Dick in for a swift kiss. “What’s the rub?”

“Hey John, it’s this girl, she’s possessed. I figured it would probably be a lot easier for you to fix than for us.”

“Jolly good, I’ll get to it then. Oi, ugly nutter, you in there?”

The girl’s head shot up. Her eyes bled black and slimy gray goop began to dribble from her mouth.   
“John Constantine, as I live and breathe. I guess it won’t be so bad being exercised by a legend. I’ll get to tell all my friends how the great John Constantine got me off,” the demon, Dave, said dreamily. Jason rolled his eyes and bit back a shout of indignance. The demon wasn’t even being sarcastic. How the hell was Jason supposed to compete with a guy the bad guys were _honored_ to be vanquished by?

“Right, you are a bit barking aren’t ya? Well, ‘s all the same, I’ll have you outta there in just a mo. _Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo draco maledicte. Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.”_

Black smoke bled from the girls eyes and mouth, and as Constantine neared the end of the exorcism she reared her head back and screamed. The smoke fled her body in a flash of sulfur, and Jason was glad for the filter’s in his helmet when Constantine and Dick began to cough as it dissipated. In place of the demon lay a traumatized little girl. She was breathing hard and staring up at the three of them like they were aliens. Before Jason could even blink, Constantine was on the bed next to her. He pulled the ropes off her wrists and ankles and began to explain.

“Don’t fret love, it’s just a demon got in ya. They’re a bit shit demons, they don’t play fair. Really they’re bleeding monsters honestly. Don’t worry though, we got you sorted. That things not coming back for you. I sent it to hell, no escaping that. Wiggle your fingers for me? There’s a love. And your toes? Perfect. Alrighty, just head downstairs, your mum and dad are worried about you. Tell them I’ll be down in a mo, I’m just going to bless the room. Why don’t you take Nightwing with you? There’s a love.”

The little girl hugged him tight and started off, tugging Dick with her.

“Sorry I didn’t send her with you, but to be honest mate, you’re a bit scary. Mind, she might want someone scary enough to fight of demons and things, but I’m guessing Dick’s generally better with the parents.”

This guy just did not shut up. When Jason didn’t respond he went about blessing the room, completely ignoring him, like he didn’t give a shit what Jason thought of him. He probably didn’t, he was sort of known for that to be honest.

“Right o’, we’re just about done here. So, Red, how long’ve you fancied Dickie?” He asked. Jason’s jaw dropped, and he was ever, ever so grateful for the helmet.

“I don’t,” he snapped.

“Yeah you do. Don’t forget Red, it’s basically my job to read auras and things. I know people, and you’ve been carrying something around with you the entire time I’ve been here. I can only guess it’s Dick because it seems to me that you hate me. I can’t blame ya really, he’s quite the catch, but I’m not under any illusions that he’s mine. We’re sleeping together, sure, but no more than that. If you want him, you should tell him, before someone else gets there first.” With that Constantine finished his blessing and walked out of the room, not even giving Jason a second glance. Jason didn’t leave just yet. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, and reminded himself that killing Constantine would solve nothing. Constantine, by his own admission, had no attachments to Dick, which was good for Jason? Yes, it was. That meant  that Jason still had a chance. But Dick had said he wasn’t ready for a relationship. Jason didn’t want to wait for an assurance that Dick was ready, since that would probably come in the form of another relationship with someone else, but Jason also didn’t want to push before Dick was ready. What if he asked Dick now when he wasn’t ready, and Dick said no and that was it? Opportunity gone, a whole life passing them by because Jason didn’t have the patience to wait just a little while longer.

No, Jason would wait. The only question was, how long? Did he wait until Dick was done with Constantine? Did he wait until Dick said out loud that he was ready to find someone new? Did he just pick a number of days and wait that long? There were too many unanswered questions here. He needed to talk to someone who knew what they were doing. Someone who could tell him when Dick was ready because Dick would tell them before he’d tell anyone else.

Jason needed to talk to Barbara Gordon.

\----

Barbara lived in a slightly nicer part of town than Dick, but not as nice as Jason. She hadn’t wanted to give him her address for quite some time, but Dick had eventually coerced her into giving it to Jason for emergencies. He’d never expected to use it for relationship advice.

He swung in through her window and she didn’t even blink from her place at the dining room table, mug of coffee in one hand, newspaper in the other.

“Someone better be dying,” she said, still not looking at him. Jason stood his ground and tried not to blink, which was ridiculous since he was still wearing the helmet, and she couldn’t see his eyes anyway.

“I need to talk to you.”

“About?”  
“Dick.”

She sighed and put down her paper. Jason read the headline upside down. It was a Gotham Gazette turned to the society pages. The headline read: Bruce Wayne At Odds With Eldest Son Over Older Boyfriend? Jason didn’t know why anyone bothered with the paper. Especially the Gotham paper.

Barbara looked up at him with contempt.

“Is this about your massive hard on for Gotham’s most eligible bachelor?” She asked.

“Better not let Bruce hear you say that.”

“Bruce has Clark.”  
“And Dick hasn’t been single for more than a month in his life,” Jason shot back. Barbara shrugged.

“So it is about that, then.”

Jason sighed.

“Look, I think we can both admit that you and Dick aren’t exactly Bonnie and Clyde, but I think it’s probably safe to say that you’re an improvement on his last two relationships. Of course he’s with Constantine now, so I don’t know if you’re an improvement on that,” Barbara mused. “And take that helmet off, I hate talking to it.”

Jason removed his helmet and set it on the table. He was silent for a moment.

“Constantine doesn’t care about Dick, it’s just sex. He told me so himself,” Jason said. He didn’t want to sit down. He needed this one advantage. Barbara was going to judge him either way, so it was better he didn’t sit level with her.

“And with you it wouldn’t just be sex?” She asked. Jason swallowed hard and forced himself not to look away. Barbara’s eyebrows climbed to her forehead. She looked genuinely surprised, which insulted Jason just a little bit.

“It wouldn’t be, wow. I can honestly say I didn’t expect that. Do you love him?”   
Jason shrugged.

“I can’t say I do.”

“But you can’t say you don’t.”

Jason really hated when people quoted him back to himself, and Barbara hadn’t even been there when he’d said that. He shrugged again, and Barbara sighed.

“Look, if you’re going to ask for my help you need to level with me. Do you love him or not?”

Jason took a deep breath. He wasn’t really sure, to be honest. He hadn’t thought about it so much like that. He knew he wanted Dick, and for more than just sex. He wanted a relationship and all the awkward emotional bullshit that went with that, but he didn’t know if he’d call it love quite yet. He was sure it could turn into love. Of that he had little doubt. It was just about whether or not the feeling was fostered or shoved aside. He’d shoved it aside after he’d died and only now were the feelings coming back, now that he’d allowed himself to think about it again.

Did he love Dick? He couldn’t really say, not yet, but he was sure he could be in love with him, some day.

“I don’t know if I love him now, but I care about him. A lot. I think I’ll probably fall in love with him pretty easy, if we end up together,” Jason said finally. Barbara nodded, like she’d expected as much. She and Bruce had the same ability to know what you were thinking before you said it.

“You know your no good for him, right?” She asked, an eyebrow shooting up over her glasses. Jason ignored the pain in his chest.

“I know, Barbara. Believe me, everyone’s very fond of telling me so, but the way I figure it is that I’m willing to compromise to keep him, Slade wasn’t, Raptor sure as hell wasn’t, and Constantine doesn’t want him. Not like I do.”

Barbara nodded, it was a good point, and they both knew it. Jason may be the black sheep of the family, but he was still loyal, and he still cared about them all, no matter how little he showed it.

“Fine, so I’ll help you. What do you want to know?” Barbara asked decidedly. Jason forced himself not to smile and wasted no time in explaining.

“I just want to know when Dick’s ready to date again. Constantine told me to go after him before somebody else got their first, but Dick told me he wasn’t ready for a relationship. I don’t want to push him before he’s ready and end up being turned down,” Jason explained. Barbara looked impressed despite herself.

“Wow, you’re really serious about this.”

“I am.”

“Good to know, and it’s sweet of you to consider his side of things. I’ll tell you what he tells me, if he tells me anything that is. Good luck Jason, I sort of genuinely hope you get him,” Barbara said. Jason allowed himself a small smile as he snatched his helmet off the table, and put it back on. He hated how many people wanted him to take it off for personal conversations. He liked having the barrier between them and his facial expressions.

“Thanks, Barbara,” he said as he made his way to the window.

“Sure. I hope you know that you officially owe me one,” she replied, raising her coffee in his direction. He snorted.

“Of course I do.”

\----

Jason spent the next few weeks avoiding Constantine and Dick, the former of which was no problem, and the later of which was a serious problem. It was like everywhere he turned Dick was there, with his sunny smile and his perfect ass. Jason was tired of feeling heartache. He was twenty, he shouldn’t have to deal with pain like this.

He swung around Gotham, doing a patrol and staying out of the way of the various bat children, when he got a call on his communicator. It wasn’t often that the thing was used, considering no one really liked calling him for backup.

“Hood?” Tim’s voice came through the little speaker.

“What’s up?” Jason asked, brushing dirt off his jacket.

“Nightwing and B need surveillance. They’re running an op together, it’s going fine, but Robin was backup and he had to go take care of a robbery.”

“And B’s okay with me as backup?”

“He says he prefers backup to no backup, so that’s as good a go ahead as any in my mind.”

Jason snorted. He guessed that was true.

“Sure thing, Red, send me the info I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

\----

It turned out the address Tim sent him to was just a few blocks away. Jason’s job was strictly to be surveillance and backup if needed, so he didn’t bother changing or anything like that. He just found a nice cozy rooftop across the street and grabbed some binoculars. He had to look around for a bit before he found Dick and Bruce. They were in a club, the kind with pumping base, strobe lights, and bad decisions on retainer. There were whores out front and coke dealers out back, and Jason couldn’t imagine which one of the many, many criminals filling the place were about to be taken down. He looked around for a bit and and noticed one or two major crime bosses who could potentially be targets. It could be all of them for all Jason knew.

He kept surveying, watching out for pitch black hair or brilliant blue eyes. It was no wonder Dick was often mistaken for Bruce’s son. They looked practically identical in more ways than one.

Finally he found them on the dance floor, and choked on air.

Bruce was dressed as Matches Malone. Cheap suit, cheap haircut, porn stache, the whole nine. Dick was dressed like one of the whores out front. Booty shorts that clung to his ass almost tighter than his Nightwing suit, a too tight t-shirt with a big v-neck, and an expression that usually meant high or drunk. Bruce had Dick’s hips in his hands, and Dick was grinding back on him. Jason felt his jaw drop as he watched Bruce grab Dick’s hair in one massive fist and kiss him hard and sloppy. Jason felt his arms go numb, and he almost dropped the binoculars.

He knew, of course, about the many, many undercover ops that Dick and Bruce had gone on together that had led to similar situations, but he had sort of disassociated with the idea of them, and hadn’t actually ever imagined seeing it in person. Seeing it in person was like watching a train wreck; he couldn’t look away, but desperately, desperately wanted to.

“Tim!” Jason hissed into his com. “What the fuck is this?” He snapped. Tim’s bored tone came through the other end.

“What the fuck is what?”

“Language shithead. This! What the fuck is this? Bruce and Dick macking on each other like their fucking plane is going down?”

Tim sighed.

“It’s called undercover work Jason. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

Damn that brat.

“They needed Matches, and they needed someone undercover in the brothel, this was clearly the best idea.”

“So you’re telling me that Dick is going to go undercover at a brothel as a prostitute?”

“Yeah, as soon as their little display attracts the attention of the pimp who runs the thing. He’s a big time dealer, some drugs that were ripped off Ivy’s poison, bad stuff if you know what I mean. It makes a roofie look like benadryl,” Tim said. He still sounded a little distracted. He was probably working the information side of all of this, or he was just working on a separate case. He wasn’t exactly their best fighter, but he was smarter than everyone except Bruce, most of the time anyway.

Jason closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. This was the job, he knew it had aspects like this, he just didn’t like to see them, or remember that they existed.

“All right, I’ll talk to you later then,” he said, signing off.

“See ya,” Tim said, completely distracted now. Jason sighed and turned off the com. He looked back down at Bruce and Dick and swallowed hard. They’d moved to a couch with a handful of other greasy looking men. Jason forced himself to focus; this was the point where they might need him. He needed to pay attention. If even one of those fuckers laid a hand on Dick, Jason was going right down there to put a stop to it.

The men were mostly talking to Bruce, and disregarding Dick, who was sitting in his lap, kissing his neck and generally looking like a meek little plaything. One of the men cracked a joke, and everybody else laughed. Bruce looked at Dick and said something with a smarmy grin, before kissing Dick with lots of tongue. Dick immediately reciprocated, and Bruce’s hand moved down to grab a handful of Dick’s ass.

Jason was so putting a stop to these kinds of operations. The next time the Dynamic Duo wanted to take down a pimp they could figure out another way, or they could just call Jason. He’d fix it cleanly and quickly, one bullet, one pair of cement shoes, and there was the whole thing solved. If there was one thing Jason hated more than anything else in the world, it was a pimp. He’d never met one worth a damn, and he highly doubted he ever would.

Jason forced himself to keep watching.

The night was long and arduous. He got to see a lot of Dick pretending to be a whore, and a lot of Bruce pretending to be a sleazebag. Not exactly far reaching disguises for either of them. At the end of the night one of the men put their hands on Dick, assessing him no doubt, for a future in his brothel. Jason’s knuckles went white as the man brushed his hands over Dick’s ass and cock, rubbing a little at his lips before combing through his hair, and pulling his head back to examine his neck and chest. Jason felt the binoculars snap, and threw them to the ground, furious. He clenched his jaw and went back to his roost, this time using the enhanced lenses in his mask to watch the scene below.

Bruce was shaking hands with the men, money was being passed around and promises were being made. The whole time Dick stood there with a vapid look on his face, and picked everyone’s pocket.

They left soon after, and Jason texted Tim the all clear. He swung down into the alley, got on his bike and drove off. He didn’t bother trying to catch up with Dick or Bruce. He doubted they’d want to hear what he thought of the whole thing.

\----

A few days later it was friday again and Jason had almost forgotten about their movie night ritual. He’d been conveniently out of town the last few friday’s and after the events of that week he’d forgotten he had something to avoid on friday nights.

Dick was sitting on his couch, popcorn in one hand and a whole stack of Harry Potter DVD’s in the other. Jason took one look at him and sighed.

“Again?”

“Don’t even try to pretend you don’t love them,” Dick shot back, a small placating smile on his face. He clearly knew Jason was mad, he just probably didn’t know why.

“You okay?” Dick asked. Jason set his keys down in the bowl by the door and nodded.

“Yeah, I just hate that undercover stuff. Gives me the heebie jeebies, you know?”

Dick nodded, “Yeah, of course. Do you want to talk about it?”

Jason looked at him sideways.   
“Yeah, sure that sounds like me.”

Dick sighed exasperatedly.

“Look, Jason, we all know why you don’t like that stuff, and we try to keep you away from it as much as possible. I’m sorry you had to be there the other night, but I felt better knowing you were there to help if something had gone wrong,” Dick said. Jason took off his jacket slowly, turning so he didn’t have to look at Dick. Of course they all knew what was wrong with him, what made him so mad about that, or at least they knew half the picture. He’d sold sex for money before when he was younger. The bad side of Gotham was a mean place, and he’d fallen victim to it more than once. He didn’t like rapists, and he didn’t like pimps, and apparently they all knew why. He didn’t like that, but he wasn’t surprised. They were all smart enough to figure it out, no matter how much it embarrassed him.

What they didn’t know, however, was that it was seeing Dick in that position that really made Jason angry. Dick shouldn’t have been given that job, he should never have had to be anywhere near that kind of thing. He was too good for it. Jason and Bruce were jaded, tainted by years living life in the shitiest ways possible. Bruce didn’t talk about his past, but Jason was sure there were things about it he didn’t want them to know, things he was ashamed of. Jason had them too. Memories that tainted his dreams like oil in the ocean. Things he’d scrub out of his mind with steel wool if he could. Only, he couldn’t. He was going to live the rest of his life knowing what he’d done, what had been done to him, but knowing that made him all the more certain that he didn’t want anyone else to feel it, ever. Especially not someone as purely good as Dick Grayson.

“Don’t worry about it Dick,” Jason said, handing his jacket by the door. “Just leave it alone.”

Dick left it alone for all of two seconds.   
“It’s just, I know how you feel about this, and I-”

“No, you don’t, Dick. You don’t know how I feel about this, and you’ll never know, not if I can help it. I don’t _want_ you to know. If I had my way you wouldn’t be anywhere near this shit. No one would be, no one but guys like me who already know what to expect. I want you safe, Dick, and I don’t ever want you to know how I feel,” Jason snapped, probably a tad more harshly than was needed, or than he intended. He finally turned back to look at Dick, who was looking at him with big sad blue eyes.   
“I know how you feel, Jason,” he said again. Jason made a frustrated sound.

“No, you don’t-”  
“Jason!” Dick snapped, desperation leaking into his voice. “ _I know how you feel.”_

Jason’s mouth snapped shut and he stared at Dick for a long moment before it clicked. He snarled and fire lit his eyes. He turned and grabbed a spare gun from the shoe cupboard.

“Fucking names, Dickie, _now,”_ he snarled.

Dick sighed. He put the movies and the popcorn on the table, and patted the couch next to him.

“Come here.”

“ _No_ , not until you tell me-”

“Jason!” Dick’s voice broke on the word. “Just come here, please.” The desperation in his voice was too much for Jason to handle, and he dropped the gun and went to go sit on the couch.

He sat less than a foot away from Dick, and didn’t look at him.

“After Blockbuster died, the woman who killed him, Catarina Flores, Tarantula, she-” he took a deep breath, “she took something I didn’t want to give. I was traumatized, I didn’t stop her- couldn’t stop her. I never really told anyone because I didn’t want anyone to worry. So, you see, I know how you feel, some of what you feel, anyway, and I ask you if you want to talk because I did want to talk, but I never did, and I regret it,” he said. Jason swallowed hard. He hung his head down to look at his hands. He’d never talked either, but clearly there was other kinds of evidence, if Dick knew already.

“I won’t judge you, you know. I mean, who am I to judge? I can’t count on both hands the number of criminals who’ve made moves on me. Owlman especially. Did I ever tell you about that? The dude couldn’t stand the idea of not having me. It makes me wonder what poor Talon went through, not that we’ll ever know for sure.”

Jason made a sound of agreement, then took a deep breath. He didn’t know if he really wanted to talk, but Dick had said his piece, and it was Jason’s turn now.

“My parents were shitty parents, as I’m sure you know. Neither of them ever made enough money for the rent, though I’m sure they never noticed. The landlord was a sick fuck, but he let us stay when I asked, as long as I finished paying the rent however he wanted. Usually he just wanted sex. Sometimes he wanted me to steal things, rob people, shit like that. I never said no, but really, what the hell was I supposed to do?” Jason sighed. He clenched his hands together in a white knuckled grip and refused to look at Dick. Now that he’d started he found he couldn’t really stop.

“There’s more, of course. There always fucking is with me. My mom’s drug dealer, dad’s goon buddies, people who took advantage when I was out of my mind after I came back to life, before Talia put me in the pit,” Jason barked a humorless laugh. “Fucking Talia and her damn cronies, too, until I learned to go for the jugular instead of the abdomen. My whole life, Dick. My whole fucking life.” Jason sat back on the couch, and let the weight of what he’d confessed sink in. He’d never told anyone that before, none of it. He’d never even let the words leave his lips, not even when he was alone. Dick didn’t say anything. He just moved closer, and pulled Jason into his arms. Jason just sat there. Not crying, not reciprocating. He didn’t cry over these things, not anymore. Not for a long time. He didn’t hug back, but he didn’t dare pull away. He just let himself sit there, breathing in the faded scent of Dick’s soap.

“I love you, Jason,” Dick said, holding him tighter, and Jason’s breath hitched.

“We all do, every single one of us. You mean more to us than I could ever tell you.” The words were comforting, but for some reason they were disappointing too. Jason didn’t bother to waste energy thinking about that. He was suddenly more tired than he could ever remember himself being.

“Want to watch Princess Bride with me, instead?” Dick asked. Something light, with nothing horrible in the whole damn movie.

“Sure,” Jason mumbled. He pulled away from Dick, finally, and stood up.

“I’m going to grab a drink, can I get you anything?”

“Just water’s fine.”

Jason nodded.

“Call for pizza, would you?” He asked. Dick nodded, and reached over to grab the cordless phone. Jason retreated to the kitchen to collect himself.

_I love you, Jason._

Those words rung in Jason’s head. Were they true? Did they mean what he thought they meant or was Dick just talking in general? Jason idly poured two glasses of water and then stood, watching the water swirl around the glasses before it settled.

Was it possible that Dick loved him? Even if he didn’t, was it possible that he was ready to try? Jason was more than ready to try. He’d waited as long as he wanted to. He pulled out his phone and texted Barbara.

 _Is he ready?_ He sent.

He didn’t even have to wait another minute for her to reply.

_Yes._

Jason smiled to himself, and walked out into the living room, two glasses in hand. Dick turned to look at him, and Jason was struck with just how much he loved him. That stupid black hair that somehow looked perfectly styled, despite the fact that they all knew it was really just barely brushed bed head. Those blue eyes that just reached into his soul and gripped at his heart. That beautiful, perfect, sunny smile. The one that promised a lifetime of happiness if only you could catch it.

“Hey, Dickiebird, there’s a circus coming to town tomorrow. Want to go to the six o’clock show?” He asked. He’d tell him there. He’d tell Dick he loved him, because he knew now that was what the feeling was, one of complete and unadulterated love. He’d tell Dick, and then he’d ask him out on a date. A nice, fun date, one that Jason would pay for and walk him home from. It would be perfect.

Dick smiled that sunny smile.

“Sure thing, Jay. Sounds like fun.”

\----

They never made it to the circus. The next day a mysterious ‘old friend’ of Dick’s called with a situation that only Dick could solve, and Dick flew off to take care of it. Nobody knew who the friend was, or what the situation was. Dick had been incredibly sorry to break their circus date, but, in his own words, _People are going to die, Jay. I have to go._

Jason couldn’t say anything to that, so he’d let it go, he’d let Dick go.

\----

Dick didn’t come back for almost a month. He came back tanner than before and with a spring in his step. He grinned at Jason when he saw him, and he laughed a lot more. He was happier than he’d been when he left, which Jason hadn’t thought was possible, and was immediately suspicious of. He and Dick went on patrol together the second night after he was back, and Jason quickly grew tired of not knowing what was going on.

“Ok, so what happened? Where did you go, and why did you come back all- all-”  
“All what?”

“All _happy_. It’s like you took a shot of sunshine up your ass,” Jason complained. Dick laughed bright and sunshiny like the little asshole he was.

“I’ll tell you what, meet me tonight at my apartment, and I’ll tell you everything. Just don’t invite Bruce,” he laughed. Jason sighed, but didn’t argue.

“Fine, fine, sure, whatever, I’ll see you there.”

They ended patrol soon after, and after going home to change into his civvies, Jason rode his bike to Dick’s apartment. He didn’t bother with the door, he never did, and when he dropped down into the living room he was met with the sight of a strange man in Dick’s apartment in nothing but hix boxers and a t-shirt. The man was massive. Easily taller than even Bruce, incredibly buff and smirking. He had reddish brown hair and blue eyes, and dammit what was with Dick and redheads?

Jason pulled out his spare beretta and clicked off the safety.

“Who the fuck are you?” He snapped. The man put up his hands, but the amused smirk never left his face.

“Damn Red, with friends like you, who needs enemies?” He laughed. Jason frowned, unamused.

Dick came running him, thankfully fully dressed, and stepped between them.

“Wow, wow, wow. It’s all right Jay, put the gun down. He’s not an intruder. This is Lucas Trent,” Dick said. Lucas Trent? That name was familiar, though Jason couldn’t for the life of him remember out why.

“Lucas Trent?” He asked, lowering the gun just slightly. The man, Lucas, grinned at him.

“Yeah, though you might know my better by Midnighter,” he said. Jason’s stomach dropped. A sense of complete and utter doom washed over him. His brain felt like it was boiling in his skull, his heart constricted in his chest, and he felt his knees turn to jell-o.

No, there was no way, _no way._ He’d waited so long, he’d tried so hard. He’d been a gentleman, a good man, a man who deserved to have what he wanted.

“What?” He asked, comprehension refusing to dawn on him.

“He’s my boyfriend, Jay,” Dick said, a slightly embarrassed smile lighting his face. Jason just stared at him. He couldn’t believe it. All that time he’d waited… And he’d had the circus planned so perfectly.

He couldn’t believe this was happening to him again.

“What the fuck?” He snapped, just the littlest bit desperate. Midnighter- because it was  Midnighter, not Lucas fucking Trent- sauntered forward and wrapped an arm around Dick’s waist.

“Yeah, haven’t you heard? We’re in love,” he smirked.

Jason punched him in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See if you can spot some more member's of Dick Grayson's harem of middle aged men!


	3. Chapter 3

****Midnighter’s head snapped back at Jason’s punch, Jason had it on good authority that he punched hard, and he stumbled back into the couch.

“Jason!” Dick snapped, staring at him with wide, confused eyes. “What the hell?”

Jason didn’t know what to say. There was nothing he could really say that wouldn’t immediately give away how he felt about Dick, though by the smirk on Midnighter’s bloody lips it appeared at least he already knew how Jason felt. Jason thought quickly. He needed something that would make sense, something that would keep Dick off his trail.

“Again, Dickie? You’re dating a villain, again?” Jason asked, knowing full well that Midnighter was much more of an antihero than a full fledged villain. In fact, all things considered, he was much more like Jason than any of the others had been.

“He’s not a villain, Jason, and even if he was that doesn’t mean you can just go around punching people! What’s wrong with you?” He snapped. Jason didn’t have any defenses left. His biggest argument against this was weak at best. Either he came out and told Dick how he felt, or he left, and let sleeping dogs lie. Jason looked between them once, twice, and made his decision.

“Fucking whatever Dick, I’ll see you around.” He didn’t acknowledge Midnighter, just slipped out the window and flung himself into the night. He didn’t need this, and he didn’t need to explain himself. Dick could just figure things out himself. Jason stepped onto his bike, gunned the ignition, and drove through the streets of Gotham. He didn’t go home, not at first. He didn’t want to explain himself to anyone, even Roy and Lian, not yet anyway. He drove through the streets until finally he stopped in the same place he always ended up.

Park Row. Crime Alley.

Jason stepped off his bike and looked up at the apartment building that he’d onced lived in. The whole thing was crumbling and sun faded and smelled just a little bit like urine. Jason sat heavily on the sidewalk just as it began to rain. He looked down at the motorcycle helmet in his hand and let himself just ruminate in his own misery.

How many times was he going to be forced to make this same mistake? To miss his chance? He’d been infatuated with Dick for years, but at the end of the day Dick had picked everyone in their life except him. He’d dated the best of the heroes when they were younger, and now he was going through the best of the rogues. The villains and the antiheroes, and yet not once had he stopped for Jason. No, Jason was reserved for drunken mistakes.

Jason had to face the facts. He was nothing, and he didn’t deserve Dick. He was a poor kid from crime alley who’d gotten half a chance at a real life but had died before he’d made good on his chance. He’d come back wrong, twisted in a way that his family couldn’t stand. No one wanted to be around him, save for Roy. At least the other men Dick had dated knew their places in the world. They knew what they were and they owned it. They had friends, family, people who loved them. Jason had none of that. His family was dead or hated him. His only friend was Roy, and no one had ever loved him. He’d never had a real relationship. No girlfriend, no boyfriend, and nothing in between. Jason didn’t have anybody because nobody wanted him. He’d thought maybe he’d have a chance with Dick, but he should’ve known better. If he couldn’t find any normal, not perfect people to love him, there was no chance Dick ever would. Jason didn’t deserve him, so maybe it was time he started searching for someone more in his station. Other people broken beyond saving, people who didn’t light up a room like the sun.

Jason tipped his head back and let the rain wash over him. His hair clung to his forehead, and strands of it fell into his eyes.

He was a Gotham City street rat, the child of an addict and a criminal. He should really remember that.

\----

Jason dragged his heels on the way home, and when he finally made it to the front door he was greeted by the sight of a very angry Roy Harper.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“I told you I was going to see Dick, and you’re not my mother Harper.”

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you can just stay out until four in the morning and not expect me to worry about you douchebag,” Roy scoffed. Jason rolled his eyes and put his helmet on the table by the door. He shrugged out of his wet jacket and hung it up on it’s own hook, away from the other dry clothes that were hanging.

“I’m alive, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but how was I supposed to know that if you didn’t return any of my calls?” Roy snapped. Jason sighed, the weight in his shoulders too much to bare.

“Roy,” he said, voice soft and brittle. “Just let it go, okay? I’m going to bed.” Jason made a beeline for his bedroom door.

“Jason,” Roy said, stopping him. Jason turned warily.

“What happened?” Roy asked. Jason shrugged.

“He’s dating Midnighter.”

Roy’s eyebrows shot to his forehead.

“I thought you guys had that whole heart to heart. Didn’t you ask him on a date?”  
“We did, but apparently that doesn’t mean anything to him. I asked him to go to the circus with me, but I never said it was a date.”

Roy sighed.

“I’m sorry, man. Go on to bed, Lian and I are going to make pancakes in the morning.”

Jason nodded and kept on to his room. He didn’t turn back to look at Roy; he didn’t want to. Nobody needed to see the expression on his face.

Jason stripped and got into bed. He laid back and closed his eyes, his body still tense and numb.

\----

That night Jason had a nightmare featuring Dick locked in an embrace with the Joker. They were laughing together at Jason, who bled out on the floor, while a crow bar sat off to the side. Jason woke up drenched in sweat, his hands still shaking. At least he hadn’t woken Roy or Lian.

He got up out of bed and rubbed at his eyes. This was getting ridiculous. He knew there was no way he was going to get anymore sleep, so he went into the living room and began to angrily clean his guns. Midnighter. Fucking Midnighter. Of course Dick would have realized the same thing everyone else had; that dating villains was a bad idea. Of course, instead of falling for Jason, who was clearly the obvious choice, he fell for Midnighter. Midnighter who was almost exactly like Jason. An antihero, a man with dubious morals, a killer, but at the end of the day, a good enough man to keep Dick around. Jason snapped the clip harshly back into place. He was more than a little pissed. It wasn’t like Dick didn’t have _any_ interest in him. If that were true Jason might have left it alone, but the simple fact of the matter was that Dick had expressed interest in him, only he’d been drunk. Maybe if Jason could get him away from Midnighter, then Dick would agree to go out with him. Jason was tired of waiting endless days, weeks, even months for Dick to be free, to be ready. Maybe it was time Jason made his own opening, by breaking up Dick and Midnighter.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind Jason was decided. He would break them up and swoop in to rescue Dick’s broken heart. He brushed the ethics aside. He was going to love Dick, to treat him right, and besides, everyone already thought badly enough about him. Maybe it was time he proved them right.

He finished cleaning his guns, and set about devising a plan to break up Dick and Midnighter.

\----

In the end all he needed was an opportunity, and he didn’t have to wait long for it. Dick called him three days later with an opportunity that Jason just couldn’t pass up. He was stilted when he called, like he didn’t really want to be calling, but it appeared he had no choice.

“Hey, Jason,” he muttered into the phone.

“Goldie,” Jason replied cracking his knuckles. Lian popped her head into his room and made kissy faces at him. Jason threw a pillow at her and she cackled as she ran out of his room.

“Is there someone else there?” Dick asked, hesitant. Jason sighed.

“Just a green eyed brat who’s entirely too much like her father,” Jason replied. Dick laughed, the tension draining out of him.

“Right, sorry, I forgot you and Roy lived together. How are he and Lian, anyway?” He asked. Jason frowned.

“They’re fine Dick, why are you calling?”

Dick sighed on the other end of the phone.

“Look, I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t want to ask you this, but I need your help on a case, a case with Midnighter.”

Jason’s fist tightened around the phone until his knuckles bled white.

“Dick-“

“Jason, I know, I know how you feel about him, and I wouldn’t ask, but it’s this guy, it’s- well, he’s hurting kids. He’s got this whole human trafficking thing going and he’s abducting a bunch of little kids. I just- we need help, Jay, and I know how you feel about this kind of thing.”

Jason sighed. They all knew how Jason felt about that kind of thing. He hated human traffickers, but more than anything he hated people who hurt kids. He held no sympathy and no mercy for them. It was probably something to do with that childhood trauma that he should probably talk to a therapist about, but who had time for something as trivial as therapy? Certainly no one in their family.

“I’ll be there in fifteen,” Jason said briskly.

“Ok, I’ll send you a location, and Jason-“ He hung up the phone before Dick could finish. Just because he was trying to win him away from Midnighter didn’t mean Jason couldn’t still be pissed at him. Dick had made a lot of bad decisions in his lifetime, and Jason was allowed to be mad at him, especially when Dick already knew he was mad.

Jason stood slowly, and methodically began to put on his gear. He filled the clips with real bullets, and strapped them to his sides. He needed to be smart about this. If he was going to get Dick away from Midnighter he had to focus on discrediting Midnighter, without having the blame shoved back on him. It wouldn’t do to purposely make a mess and blame it on Midnighter, Dick wasn’t nearly stupid enough for that. He would just have to goad Midnighter into doing something stupid and unforgivable. It shouldn’t be that hard, he was similar enough to Jason, and Jason knew his own buttons, surely Midnighter’s couldn’t be that far off.

He grabbed his helmet and popped his head into Roy’s room where he and Lian were sitting and reading Dr Seuss.

“Going out Jaybird?” Roy asked, eyebrows raised.

“Dick and Midnighter need help on a case, I’ll be back later,” Jason said. Roy looked suspicious, and honestly Jason didn’t blame him, he didn’t exactly have the best track record when it came to Dick.

“You sure?” Roy asked. Definitely suspicious, and now Lian looked suspicious too. She was staring at him with those eyes beyond her years. Normally she looked a lot like her mother, but during moments like this she wore her father’s patented unimpressed expression like a mask.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Jason said. He received twin Harper eyerolls for his conviction.

“All right, see you later,” Roy said, waving him off. Jason smirked and slipped out of the apartment.

He made his way to the location Dick had texted him. It was a warehouse in one of Gotham’s shittier district’s, and it was crawling with goons like ants on a forgotten piece of bread. Dick, in full Nightwing regalia, and Midnighter were crouched a few rooftops away, waiting for him apparently. Jason landed hard on the rooftop and they quickly turned to look at him.

“All right, what am I looking at?” Jason asked. Dick wasted no time with the explanation.

“That warehouse is where they store the people they abduct before selling them off. The ring leader is a guy called Rocco Diascolli, and, as you can see, he’s hired quite a bit of security for his operation.”

Jason frowned behind his helmet. “I know Diascolli. He used to be a big time pimp a few years ago. I guess he’s moved on to a more lucrative business.”

Dick frowned, as well he should. Red Hood’s hatred of pimps was well known, for another one of those childhood trauma reasons that probably required a lot of therapy, and Dick was probably worried that Jason was going to start shooting to kill. He wasn’t really wrong.

“Okay, both of you, no killing. I understand that I can’t control either of your moral compasses, but I’d appreciate it if you both stuck to my rules while I’m here at least,” Dick said, his voice sounding strained. Midnighter snorted.

“Sure thing, pretty boy. We’ll keep the mortality rate to a minimum.”

The smirk he leveled at Jason over Dick’s head didn’t seem very sincere.

“Thanks,” Dick said, sounding like he didn’t believe a word of it. “Okay, we just need to wait for D'ascoli to get here. If we take down the warehouse while he’s gone he’ll spook and we’ll never find him.”

Jason nodded and leaned back against the edge of the roof.

“So,” he said, eyes on Midnighter. “How’s the jaw?”

Midnighter snorted. There was an edge of a yellowing bruise just peeking out from under his mask, right over his cheekbone.

“Healing up just fine. You got a lucky shot in, Red, I wouldn’t count on it happening twice.”

Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah? You think you’re a better fighter than me?” He asked.

“I know I am,” Midnighter smirked again.

“I’m sure that’s not true. Look who trained me.”

“It’s not the things you learn Red, it’s how you use them.”

That damn smirk. Jason was going to punch it off his face, again.

“You implying I don’t know how to fight?”

“No, I’m implying that you don’t know how to fight well.”

Jason straightened, ready to start swinging, when Dick shot up between them; one hand on Jason’s chest, and one on Midnighter’s.

“Let’s play nice, boys. Remember, it’s the human trafficker that needs a beat down tonight, not either of you,” he snapped, the unspoken _yet_ abundantly clear. Jason shook off his hand, but kept his glare trained on Midnighter, who was still fucking smirking. Jason wasn’t making anyone look bad here but himself.

“He’s here,” Dick said suddenly. Thank god for the excellent timing of human garbage. A sleek black car pulled up in front of the warehouse, and, after another set of goons escaped their own personal clown car, D'ascoli stepped out, looking just as slick and greasy as the last time Jason had seen him.

“Okay, pretty boy, how do you want to do this?” Midnighter asked Dick. Dick frowned.

“I’ll go in through the roof, try not to be seen. The priority is getting the kids out, so you two distract the guards, and, if you can, distract Diascolli. I might run into him first, though. If I do I’ll just take him down. No one kill him, he needs to go to jail for this, got me?” Dick asked.

“Gotcha,” Midnighter said. Jason merely nodded his agreement.

Jason and Midnighter leapt off the roof first. They landed just outside the front entrance, and immediately Jason began shooting. He shot to wound, of course, but that didn’t mean he had to be kind about it. He aimed mostly for knee caps and crotches. Midnighter ran straight into the fray, yelling and slamming his fists into faces. He’d hit them until they didn’t get back up, faces almost caved in and bloody. Jason allowed himself a moment of grudging respect as he roundhouse kicked somebody’s teeth into the floor. He could respect a man who didn’t let monsters go unpunished, no matter how much he didn’t want to.

Out of the corner of his eye Jason saw Dick land on the roof of the warehouse, and watched him just long enough to make sure he made it inside.

“I’m inside,” Dick’s voice came through over the com’s.  
“Copy that, pretty boy. We’re making our way inside, now,” Midnighter replied. Jason followed him through the throng of goons, working his way through them, shooting, stabbing, and kicking until they were all down for the count. Once everything was said and done he and Midnighter had taken out maybe two dozen men, each of them bleeding and unconscious.

“Not bad, Red,” Midnighter smirked.

“Fuck off,” Jason replied, shoving past him and into the building. Inside there was a massive main room which housed several desks and safes. Then there was a door that led to a long hallway full of rooms that housed the kidnapped children. Dick was behind that door, but Disacolli was in front of it, surrounded by a dozen more guards. Jason reloaded as they all turned to see who was coming in the front door.

“Who the fuck are you?” Diascolli asked.

“We’re your one way ticket to hell, shithead,” Midnighter growled. The guards wasted no time firing at them, and Jason immediately started firing back, while Midnighter knocked over a desk for cover. Jason crouched behind it, and shot up occasionally to fire back.

“Come on, sir, we need to get you out of here,” one of the guards said. Jason shot up to see them slowly leading Diascolli towards the door to the children’s rooms.

“They’re taking him out the back exit. They’ll run right into Nightwing and the kids, we’ve got to keep them here,” Jason snapped to Midnighter. Midnighter nodded, and stood up. With a yell he threw himself at the guards, knocking them down, and making the one holding Diascolli stumble. Jason stood up quickly and fired off in rapid succession until his clips were empty. Only three guards and Diascolli remained. Jason threw himself at them, slamming his fist into the face of one of the guards again and again until he stayed down, his left cheek broken almost beyond repair.

Jason started working on another goon, while Midnighter went after Diascolli. He took out the guard and Diascolli ran to the door to the hallway. Midnighter grabbed him before he could get there and threw him onto the floor. Jason dislocated his guard’s shoulder, and slammed the man’s face into the floor until his nose broke and he lost consciousness. Then he made his way over to where Midnighter was wailing on Diascolli.

“You think it’s fun, huh? Taking little kids from their parents, selling them to the highest bidder you sick fuck? Well let me tell you something, you even _think_ of touching another kid and I won’t kill you, I’ll keep you alive as long as I can while I chop you up, piece by piece, until you’re begging to die,” Midnighter snarled. He slammed his fist into Diascolli’s stomach, and blood spurted from his mouth. Midnighter picked him up, and threw him into the wall, his head slamming back against the steel, and he fell to the floor, still not unconscious. Midnighter brushed his hands off as he watched Diascolli attempt to stand.

“Hey, Red, feel like finishing him off?” he asked. Jason smiled under his helmet.

“It would be my absolute pleasure.”

He picked D'ascoli up by the neck of his shirt and shoved his face up close.

“You’re going to be so sorry we let you live,” he snapped, and punched D'ascoli into unconsciousness. Then he wrenched his arms back until he heard a distinctive pop and clasped them in handcuffs. He threw the man to the floor, and stood up, his breathing heavy and angry.

“Not bad, Red,” Midnighter said, again. Jason turned to look at him.

“Thanks for letting me get a few licks in,” he said, begrudgingly. Midnighter shrugged.

“The way you were talking earlier I figured you needed it. I’m no stranger to therapeutic violence myself. I know Nightwing gets it, too, but he’s too kind to partake. That’s fine though, I wouldn’t want to bring him down to my level. It’d be doing him a disservice.”  
Jason stared at him, and found himself, to his complete and utter horror, liking the man. Midnighter understood where Jason was coming from, and wasn’t that a complete and utter first. No one understood Jason, save maybe Roy, that was sort of his thing. Besides, Jason didn’t want to like this man. This man that had stolen Dick from him. Not that he’d been aware that he was stealing Dick from anyone, but still.

“You’re not good enough for him,” Jason said. Midnighter turned to look at him, fully.

“So you’re in love with him, huh?” He asked. Jason sucked in a breath, but didn’t reply.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell. I’m sorry, too. If anyone gets it I do. I can’t say I’ve been after him forever or anything like that, there’s someone else like that for me, but I wanted him as soon as I met him. He’s just never been single. I thought I finally got my chance the other day when he showed up single and interested. I’m sorry if I took your chance away from you,” Midnighter said. Jason could hardly breathe.

“You don’t love him,” he said.

“No, but I’d like to try.”

And just like that Jason’s resolve crumbled. He couldn’t hate this man. This man who knew exactly what he was going through for having been through it himself. Jason’s shoulders slumped, and just barely held back from rubbing at his eyes.

“Go ahead, take your chance, but don’t think I’m giving up on him.”

Midnighter shrugged. “I would never expect you to.”

And just like that Jason knew it was time to move on.

\----

Dick got all the kids out, safe and unharmed while Midnighter and Jason rounded up the men and hogtied them all together. Dick frowned down at the carnage disapprovingly, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he chose to go to work keeping the kids eyes away from it all. They called the police, and waited until they heard the sirens and saw the lights before taking off. Dick put the oldest kid, a girl of barely fourteen with a strong jaw and steel in her eyes, in charge before they left. They took off back to their rooftop, and watched as the police took everyone into their custody.

“Thank you, both of you,” Dick said once the everyone was finally packed away in their appropriate car. “I know it’s hard for you guys to compromise with me on this, but thank you for trying.”

Midnighter kissed him lightly, and Jason had never regretted having the helmet more.

“Don’t worry about it, pretty boy. You know we’d do anything for you,” Midnighter said. _We_ . He wasn’t wrong. They’d do just about anything for Dick Grayson, in fact most people probably would. He inspired loyalty and love in others. The two of them were easily trapped in his web of kindness and compassion.  
“Thank you,” Dick said, looking at Midnighter softly, who quirked his mouth into a smile in response.

“I’m taking off. We still on for tomorrow?” He asked. Dick nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

“See you.” With that Midnighter shot his grapple off and swung off into the night. Dick watched him go for a long minute before turning back to Jason.

“Thank you for agreeing to help, I know you don’t exactly approve,” he said. Jason sighed, and tugged the helmet off so Dick could see the expression on his face.

“I didn’t like Slade. I didn’t like Raptor, or Bruce, or John Constantine, or anyone else you’ve been shaking up with lately. But, to my complete and utter horror, I’m finding that I actually sort of like him. You deserve better, Dick. So much better than someone like him, someone like me, but I’m not going to tell you who to date, so, as far as your preferences go, I can say that I sort of approve of this one,” he said, feeling chillingly like a man signing away his soul. The big shining grin that broke out across Dick’s face was worth it though. He pulled Jason into a tight and somewhat bloody hug.

“Thank you, Jason,” he said into Jason’s neck. Jason sighed and wrapped his arms around Dick’s waist. This felt too much like a goodbye.

“You’re welcome, Dickie,” he muttered. Dick’s hair smelled like citrus shampoo and sweat. His skin was soft against Jason’s neck, and he slumped into the hug like he was tired and relieved.

It was almost perfect.

“I’ll see you later, Jay,” Dick said as he pulled away.

Almost perfect.

\----

The next night Jason went to a bar for the first time in he couldn’t even remember how long. Roy couldn’t do bars, and Lian was nine. Since they made up the entirety of his social circle he ended up at the bar alone. If he was going to let Dick and Midnighter have their day, then he had to move on, and step one was finding a rebound. It was odd to be looking for the rebound to a relationship he’d never actually had, but whatever. The bar was mostly full of college kids, fresh faced and gleefull at their fooling of the bartender. Jason was only twenty, so he technically couldn’t drink yet, but he looked much older than he was, and he had a Batman approved fake ID that said he was Jason Peters, twenty-two years old. Usually he didn’t even get carded, but considering the multitude of college kids, he wasn’t too surprised when the bouncer asked to see his ID.

Once he’d been waved inside he made a beeline for the bar, ordered a beer and settled in to wait. He was technically there to go scouting for a hookup, but he found he didn’t really have the energy for that yet. He sipped at his beer and waited for the courage to reach him.

He hadn’t been sitting there for entirely too long when one of the multitude of college kids settled in beside him. He was short, with thick dark hair, olive colored skin, and big brown eyes. He smiled up at Jason and asked what his name was.

“Jason.”

“Oh, cool name, I’m Danny.”

He was too young, and too short. His eyes were the wrong color and his teeth weren’t white enough. He had an annoying laugh and a falsely high pitched voice, but he would do.

They hooked up in the alley behind the bar, and Jason left him there with his dignity around his ankles, and an ache in his heart. It was the last time he went trolling for hookups in a bar.

\----

“You know, I’d say you’re heading in a downward spiral, but you’re not really heading anywhere, you know?” Roy asked. He was sauteeing some vegetables in a pan on the stove while Jason seasoned a line of chicken breasts.

“You’re just full of good advice, aren’t you?” He muttered.

“I really am. See the problem is you say you’re moving on, but, again, you’re not really moving anywhere.”

Jason rolled his eyes.

“You’re one to talk.”

“I have a kid, I _have_ to be a responsible adult, what’s your excuse? Were you just born with the mentality of an Jane Austen love interest?”

Jason punched Roy in the arm.

“Ow! What? It’s not like I’m wrong. You’re sort of like reverse Mr. Darcy. All the looks and the shitty personality traits, except instead of everyone wanting you and not being able to have you, you just want one person who you can’t have.”

Jason glared at Roy, who was grinning ear to ear.

“You’re the worst friend in the world.”

“Yeah, yeah, my point is, maybe instead of trolling for random hookups you could try trolling for a real relationship. Since, you know, you’re sort of the kind who settles down.”

“I am not.”

“You so are. You don’t have to lie to me, Jason. You want the house, and the two kids, and the eternal undying love and all of that, but you want to just have that, you don’t want to go to the trouble of looking for someone to start all that with,” Roy said. It was true, but it was also true that Jason wanted that with Dick, no one else. He didn’t want to go looking for another love of his life, because he already had one and he wasn’t interested in going to the trouble of finding another one, not when he’d never even had a chance with Dick in the first place.

“Dammit Roy, just, drop it, okay? I know, all right? I have issues, in other news the sky is blue and water’s wet. Just- just let me deal with it all right?”

Roy put the sautee spoon down and squeezed Jason’s shoulder, forcing him to relax.

“I know, Jaybird, I know. I just worry about you, and you’ve been there for me through so much, I just want to return the favor.”  
Jason nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah, I know, thanks Roy.”

Another manful squeeze, and Roy went back to sauteeing the vegetables. Lian stepped in the kitchen a moment later.

“I heart the word dammit,” she said, a gleeful smirk on her face. Jason smiled.

“Yes you did, and I believe it just came out of your mouth,” he said. Lian’s smile fell, and she walked off grumbling. She returned with a small pink wallet, and put a dollar in the jar. Then she stood there and glared at Jason until he begrudgingly added a dollar to the jar as well.

“You’re a menace,” he said.

“I know, I’m considering making it my superhero name when I grow up,” she replied, and flounced off no doubt to record over all of the TV shows Jason had saved on the DVR.

\----

Roy asked for Jason’s help on a case about a week later. Alien tech was making its way into an arms dealers repertoire, and he needed some help confiscating the tech and taking the guy out. Jason agreed and soon found himself on yet another rooftop at night, this time looking through the glass window of an office building at a man in a sleek black suit sign papers. Roy said he’d asked another person for help, but wouldn’t tell Jason who it was, so instead they just sat on the rooftop and waited for Roy’s mystery man.

The mystery man turned out to be a mystery woman. A six foot plus woman with a ridiculously long red ponytail, and a massive sword strapped to her back. She was dressed in vaguely Amazonian gear that was mostly black and red, and she didn’t look like someone to mess around with.

“Um, Roy, who the hell is this?” Jason asked. Her green eyes flared in annoyance, and Roy laughed a little awkwardly.

“Jason, this is Artemis, she’s an Amazon. Artemis, this is Red Hood, he’s my best friend.”

“Aww, Roy, I’m touched.”  
“Shut up.”

The woman, Artemis, looked vaguely amused by their bickering.

“I am Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, Roy has asked me to assist with the capture of this man, Jacques Bordeaux.” She said. She spoke very properly, like most Amazon’s did, but there was something about her that struck Jason. Maybe it was the blackness of her uniform, or the sword that looked like it had actually been used for its original purpose. He got the feeling that she, like he and Roy, was the black sheep of her family. The reject arrow, the reject bat, and the reject Amazon. They made quite the team. Jason held out his hand for her to shake.

“It’s nice to meet you, Artemis. I’m Jason, Jason Todd.”

She smiled kindly at him and shook his hand. Her grip was strong and calloused.

“Come, let us send this man to Hades and steel his tech for ourselves.”  
Jason grinned at her, and just like that he had another friend.

\----

After dismantling Jacques Bordeaux’s operation Artemis became a semi-permanent fixture in Jason and Roy’s life. She worked with them more often, and even began to stop by for dinner. Lian, of course, took an instant liking to her. Something about the red hair and the sword, Jason was sure.

“So there’s an island of only girls and they all train each other to fight like Wonder Woman?” Lian asked, completely blown away. Artemis smiled indulgently and nodded.

“Yes, and we teach each other many other things as well. I can teach you all about Greek art and architecture.”

“Oh, are those like the naked sculptures at the museum?” Lian asked. Roy groaned and hid his head in his hands while Jason choked on a laugh. Again, Artemis just smiled indulgently and nodded.

“Yes. I can teach you to make them if you like, though we should begin with the heads. Faces are very difficult to replicate.”

“Cool!” Lian grinned.

Dinner was fun. It was nice for Lian to have another woman in her life, one that wasn’t her mother. Artemis and Jason bonded quickly over their meal, and Roy kept shooting Jason glances with raised eyebrows until Jason finally knocked him out of his chair, much to Lian’s amusement.

Jason understood was Roy was trying to do, and for the first time since he’d decided to get over Dick Grayson, he was starting to believe that it might work. He liked Artemis, he couldn’t deny that. He didn’t love her, but maybe he could grow to, if she was amenable to that sort of thing, of course.

After dinner, Roy tasked Lian with doing the dishes, and trailed off after her to help. He sent a very obvious wink in Jason’s direction, and shut the door firmly behind him. Jason swallowed a sigh of exasperation, and turned to Artemis.

“So, Roy tells me you are getting over a lover,” she said, rather bluntly. Jason would never get over the bluntness of Amazons, honestly.

“Yeah, well, we were never actually together.”  
“But you were in love with her?” She asked. Jason nodded.

“Him, actually, but yeah.”

She frowned. “Oh, are you gay?” Again with the bluntness. Jason shrugged.

“I’m more equal opportunity.”

She nodded. “Then perhaps you would be open to a mutually beneficial sexual relationship with me?”

He blinked at her.

“Did you just ask me to be your fuckbuddy?”

She frowned. “I believe so. I am not looking for a romantic relationship, but I find it tedious to go looking for a new man to satisfy me every night.”

“Every night?” Jason asked, his voice breaking on the words. She looked amusedly at him.

“Yes, Jason. It gets tiring to constantly go looking for someone new, and I believe it would benefit me to have someone on standby. I also believe it would benefit you in getting over your lost love,” she replied. Very reasonably, of course. Jason found himself actually considering it. He wasn’t really looking for a friends with benefits relationship, but he’d already discovered that random hookups weren’t going to do it for him, and finding someone new to fall in love with was completely out of the question. This might be a good middle ground.

“Yeah, okay,” he said decidedly. Artemis smiled at him.

“Excellent, as I live alone would you like to come home with me tonight?”  
Jason really couldn’t think of a reason to say no.

“Yeah, okay.”

They gathered their things and left together. Jason said a quick goodbye to a smirking Roy, and then they were out the door. They made their way to what must have been one of her safe houses considering the lack of personal touch, and didn’t even bother with anything so tedious as small talk before they were ripping at each other’s clothes.

She tore at the buttons to Jason’s shirt, ripping half of them off in her haste to get him shirtless. He tugged her shirt over her head and immediately started kissing at her neck. She moaned and tossed her head back, giving him room to work. She led him to the bedroom, and crawled onto the bed, pulling him on top of her. He pulled her bra off and sucked a nipple into his mouth. She moaned and arched off the bed and into his mouth. They pulled each other’s pants off and he rubbed two fingers against her entrance. She panted into his mouth and her eyes fluttered shut.

“There are supplies in the bedside table,” she stuttered out. Even with the lack of decoration and the thin layer of dust in this safehouse, she still kept condoms and lube nearby. This woman, honestly.

Jason made quick work of the condom, and quickly pushed inside her. She screamed and arched up into him. He pounded quickly into her while rubbing at her clit and sucking at her breasts. She clung to him, and just let herself take it until finally her orgasm came ripping through her, setting off a chain reaction that had him coming hard into the condom.

After a moment to catch their breath, he pulled out and they lay panting together on the bed.

“You’re very good at that,” Artemis said. “Your love is a fool.”

Jason snorted a laugh.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Princess,” he replied. In a second she had a knife to his throat.

“Do not call me Princess,” she snapped. Jason grinned up at her and nodded.

“Okay, I won’t. If you don’t bring up my ‘lover’ when we’re in bed,” he said, using air quotes. She put the knife back under the pillow with a satisfied smile.

“Agreed,” she said.

\----

When Roy found out about Jason and Artemis being nothing more than friends with extremely good benefits he was not pleased. He went on and on about how it was unhealthy, and how Jason should be looking for something real and lasting instead of some quick fix. Jason didn’t agree, but he didn’t want to argue with Roy, so he let it go. Their spat was small and over quickly, if unsatisfyingly. It was nothing compared to what happened when Dick found out.

Roy and Lian were gone for the weekend on a daddy-daughter trip to Disney World, so Jason had Artemis over. They were fucking hard and heavy on the couch, Artemis riding Jason to completion, when the door opened and Dick stepped inside.

“Holy shit!” Dick shouted, hands slamming over his eyes. Artemis yelped and fell off the couch in shock. Jason hurriedly grabbed a pillow to cover his junk, and Artemis grabbed the throw from the couch.

“Dick, what the fuck, how did you get in?” Jason asked. Dick was backing out the door with his hands still over his eyes. He bumped into the coat rack.

“Roy gave me a spare key. He told me you’d be gone, he wanted me to get the mail,” Dick said, his voice high-pitched and shaky. Jason pressed his fingers at the headache developing between his eyes. That bastard had done this on purpose as his passive aggressive way of telling Jason he didn’t approve of his life choices.

“Right, well, as you can see, I am in fact home, and since I’m home you clearly don’t need to get the mail, so please, just leave the key and get out,” Jason said, his voice pleading. Dick didn’t need to be asked twice. With his hands still over his eyes he dropped the key in the dish by the door, and backed out, closing the door behind him. Jason sighed and dropped his head back against the couch.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

Artemis stood slowly.

“Is that your lover?” She asked.

“Yes,” Jason hissed. She was silent for a long moment.

“He is very pretty. Much prettier than you, for sure,” she said, finally.

“Thanks, Princess,” he muttered. She hit him with a pillow.

\----

Dick was avoiding Jason. It was hard to tell considering the fact that they didn’t really see each other with any regularity as it was, but he was definitely avoiding Jason. Jason hadn’t seen hide or hair of Nightwing for over a week. Not even a flash of blue finger stripes sliding through the night. Nothing.

So Jason decided to do something about it. He dropped in on Dick’s apartment unannounced, and hoped to god that Midnighter wasn’t visiting.

Dick was sitting on the couch in his boxers and a stained t-shirt eating a bowl of Crocky Crunch, so somehow Jason doubted that was the case.

“Hey, Dickie,” Jason greeted as he climbed through the window. Dick turned around to look at him, and his cheeks flushed pink.

“Hey, Jay, want some cereal?” He asked. Jason shook his head.

“That’s okay, I already had dinner.”

Dick nodded, and turned back to the TV. It was playing another mindless sitcom. No cop dramas for Dickiebird.

Jason sat down next to him on the couch and put his feet up on the table. They watched the show together in silence for a long time.

“I didn’t realize you and Artemis were together,” Dick said finally. Jason shrugged.

“We’re not really, just sort of a friends with benefits thing.”

Dick frowned, but didn’t say anything. It was clear he disapproved, but considering he was Mr. Monogamy, Jason wasn’t surprised.

“How’s Midnighter?” Jason asked. Dick shrugged.

“He’s been on a case for the last three weeks. I haven’t seen him.”

Now it was Jason’s turn to frown and not comment. It wasn’t his place to judge, and Dick would be mad at him if he did.

Dick looked quickly at him and then looked away.

“You know, I’m kind of surprised you asked Artemis, if you were looking for that. I mean, I don’t know why you didn’t just ask me,” he said, and immediately began to look like he regretted saying it. Jason’s eyebrows shot to his forehead and he looked sharply at Dick.

“What?” He asked, deadly serious.

“I was single for a long time. You could’ve asked me.”

Jason felt like his world was flipping itself on its axis.

“I didn’t want that,” Jason said, his lips numb. He didn’t even realize what he’d said until Dick looked away, the hurt clear on his face.

“Oh, right, well that’s fine,” he said, taking another bite of his cereal. Jason wanted to correct the misunderstanding, wanted to tell him that he didn’t want friends with benefits, he wanted more than that, but Dick’s phone went off and the caller ID read Bruce Wayne. Dick accepted the call, and Jason took that as his cue to leave. He looked back once at Dick, and his brows furrowed. Did that mean that Dick had been interested in him? Or had he really only been looking for an exclusively sexual relationship at the time? He’d had a friends with benefits relationship with Constantine, so maybe that was true, but Jason couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t. He thought about the times Dick had gotten drunk and made a move on him. Jason frowned as he slipped out the window.

It simply didn’t add up. Dick wasn’t exactly a shy person, if he’d wanted a relationship with Jason he could’ve just said so. He sort of had, but he’d been drunk at the time and Jason knew better than most that any advances made while drunk weren’t real, but maybe they’d at least come from a place of truth?

And Dick telling him now made less than no sense. Why would he tell Jason now? Now that he was with Midnighter and Jason was with Artemis?

By the time Jason made it back to his apartment he was no nearer an answer, instead he was just incredibly frustrated.

\----

Jason and Dick teamed up a few times after that, and slowly their relationship began to mend. They worked together on a few cases, and the awkwardness that had permeated the air around them began to fade. Jason brought Artemis in on one case, and Dick spent the entire night glaring daggers at her. She clearly noticed because she was none too kind to Dick in return, and, as she was not one to beat around the bush, she ended the night by having a serious conversation with him while Jason was out of earshot. Jason watched in fascination as she clearly scolded Dick, who had his arms crossed defensively across his chest. Once their “talk” was over, he said goodbye to Jason and flew off into the night. Artemis stepped up beside Jason and they watched him go.

“He is very frustrating for someone so pretty,” she said. Jason sighed.

“Tell me about it,” he replied.  
“I told him not to act like a jealous lover, as he has never been your lover. He did not like that.”

Jason frowned.

“I’m sure he didn’t.”

“He told me to take care of you, that you are good and that he will not be happy if I hurt you.”

Jason’s frown deepened. Artemis crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed with them both.

“He did?”  
“Yes, I believe he is in love with you.”  
“He’s dating Midnighter.”

“That does not matter.”

Jason sideyed her.

“It sort of does. He’s in a relationship with someone else. If he wanted me, he’d have told me.”

“Maybe he thinks you do not want him?” She asked. Jason snorted.

“Don’t be absurd.”

She looked confusedly at him.

“Why would that be absurd?”

“Everyone and their mother can tell that I’m in love with him. Lian can tell, every rogue he’s ever dated could tell. I got the fucking shovel talk from Slade Wilson because _he_ could tell the second he met me. There’s no way Dick couldn’t tell. If he wanted me, he’d have already told me,” Jason repeated, this time more surely. Artemis looked at him like she was simultaneously frustrated and confused, and chose not to comment. She clearly thought he was wrong, that Dick didn’t know, but Jason refused to believe that. He knew he was obvious, he’d heard it from just about everyone he knew. There was no way Dick didn’t know.

\----

Thanksgiving came up quickly upon them all. Roy and Lian had been invited to Oliver’s, and Roy, in a fit of desire for normalcy, had decided to go. Jason had advised him more than once against it, but Roy was dead set, and Jason didn’t like to argue with him about it. They invited Jason to go with them, but he declined, not wanting to butt in on what Oliver clearly wanted to be a family thing.

Thus Jason faced the prospect of a Thanksgiving alone. He wasn’t completely opposed to the idea. It wasn’t like it was Christmas or anything, and it wasn’t like it was his first Thanksgiving alone, either. He toyed with asking Artemis to join him, but decided against it. It was too much like something a real couple would do, and she’d made it more than clear that that wasn’t what they were, plus she was Amazonian and therefore didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving anyway. So Jason let sleeping dogs lie and came to terms with the fact that he’d be spending the day alone. That was until Dick crawled through his window and asked him to come to dinner at the manor.

“What? Absolutely not! There’s no way anyone wants me there anyway,” Jason said, a little bit pissed, but mostly just surprised. In previous years Dick and Alfred both had made attempts at getting him to go to Thanksgiving dinner, but he always insisted that he was spending the day with Roy, and had no interest in spending it with the Gotham version of the Partridge Family. Unfortunately this year he had no Roy and therefore no excuse, so he fell back on old reliable: nobody liked him, and therefore no one else wanted him to join.

“Of course we do! We all do! I want you there, Alfred wants you there, Tim would love it if you came, and, even though it doesn’t seem like it, Bruce wants you there, too. You’re family Jason, and this is a family day. We all want you there for it.” Dick just looked so earnest, like he really did believe everything he said. He didn’t say anything about Damian, though. Dick didn’t like to lie.

Jason shook his head anyway.

“No way, Dickiebird. They don’t want me there; it would just be awkward,” he insisted. Dick walked closer and put a hand on Jason’s arm. A pit formed in Jason’s stomach, and he felt all of his resolve melt in the deep blue of Dick’s eyes.

“Please, Jason, please come? For me?”

Damn him.

“Fine, but the second anyone makes it clear that I’m not wanted I’m leaving, and I know when I’m not wanted.”

Dick hugged Jason tight.

“Thank you,” he said, and smiled up at him with that signature Grayson smile. Jason was such a fucking sucker.

\----

When he arrived at the manor it was just as massive and foreboding as he remembered it. It had been a long time since he’d gone through the front door and not the cave entrance. He hadn’t even been upstairs in months, maybe even a year. Alfred opened the door when Jason knocked, and greeted him with a truly pleased smile.

“Master Jason,” he smiled, and pulled Jason into a hug.

“Forgive my forwardness, but it has been some time since I’ve seen you,” he said. Jason found himself smiling as well.

“Don’t worry about it Alfred, I’m sorry it’s been so long.”

Alfred led him inside and past the kitchen from which some truly heavenly smells were emanating, and into one of the sitting rooms. Bruce and Tim were sitting across from each other, deeply engrossed in a game of chess, while Dick was “posing” for Damian’s artistic hand, though he kept breaking the pose every few seconds to giggle at himself. He looked up when Jason entered, and his grin was huge.

“Jason!” He stood abruptly, dislodging Damian who grumbled in complaint.

Dick walked forward and pulled Jason into a hug, which he politely returned under Bruce’s watchful eye. Jason hadn’t forgotten what Bruce said about preferring Jason to Slade for Dick, but he didn’t know what Bruce thought of Midnighter. It couldn’t be anything too favorable. Bruce had a hard time tolerating Jason’s presence, and Jason was technically his son, so he was sure that someone outside the family stood little chance of gaining daddy’s approval.

“Jason,” Bruce said as he stood.

“Bruce,” Jason said as Bruce stood to shake his hand. Dick rolled his eyes at their formality, but didn’t comment. Tim rose from his chair for a hug, which Jason returned a little less stiffly, then went back to his game. He and Tim were probably on the best of terms outside he and Dick. They had a mutual understanding of sorts. They helped each other, and tried not to judge each other’s life choices too harshly. It was a rare thing in their family.

“Todd,” Damian grunted in greeting, going back to drawing, in almost creepy detail, the bow of Dick’s lips.

“Demon child,” Jason replied. When Damian simply tutted at him and didn’t run shrieking bloody murder at him, the tension in the room eased.

Dick pulled Jason down next to him on the couch, and together they watched Tim and Bruce attempt to out genius each other.

“So, how’re things with Artemis?” Dick asked. Jason shrugged.

“Same old, same old, nothing interesting. What about you and Midnighter?”

Dick blushed a little, and looked away.

“He’s getting more serious. I caught him looking in a jewelry store window the other day, but I don’t think I’m ready for anything that would require buying something from a jewelry store.”

Jason felt his stomach sink. He didn’t at all like where this conversation was going. If Midnighter wanted to marry Dick then Jason was definitely in trouble. Dick was absolutely the marrying kind. He’d already been engaged twice and he was only twenty-one.

“I don’t think it’s really me he wants anyway. Do you remember Apollo?” Dick asked. Momentarily thrown, Jason nodded, recalling a vague faded memory of retina-burning blonde hair and a sunny smile.

“The god?”

“No, I mean, sort of. He’s not one of Diana’s gods, but he’s got the name and the powers, and the whole blonde and beautiful thing going on. But, uh, anyway, I think Lucas is in love with him,” Dick said. Jason felt like he’d been receiving entirely too many curveballs lately.

“Um, what?” He asked, just a little bit desperately, and mostly for lack of something better and more intelligent to say. Dick sighed and leaned away from him.

“Lucas and Apollo have a history. They were together for a long time. They broke up right before he asked me out. We’ve been together for a little while now, and he keeps getting more and more serious, but I think he’s just overcompensating for letting Apollo go. I think I might break up with him honestly, because, really, I’m not who he wants.”

Jason, who couldn’t imagine Dick _not_ being what anyone wanted, was saved from having to form a coherent response to this revelation by Alfred appearing in the doorway.

“Dinner is served,” he said in his prim polished accent. The Wayne boys stood, and made their way down the hall to the dining room. Before they could make it all the way there, however, Clark Kent of all people came bursting through the door, sheepishly holding some wilted daisies in one hand, and what was undoubtedly his super suit in the other.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “There was an earthquake in Haiti.”

Bruce, to Jason’s horror, smiled big and kissed Clark lightly on the lips.

“It’s okay, we haven’t started dinner yet. And these are beautiful, thank you,” he said, taking the flowers from Clark’s hand. Clark flushed, but smiled back at him. Jason felt like he was going to throw up a little in his mouth. Like he said: entirely too many curveballs.

“When did that happen?” He asked Dick. Dick looked sideways at him.

“You knew they were together.”

“Yeah, I knew they were sleeping together, I didn’t realize they were so together that Clark’s invited to fucking Thanksgiving,” Jason shot back, only belatedly remembering that Clark could probably hear every word he said. Dick rolled his eyes.

“Then you’re the only one who didn’t,” he said, and moved to say hello to Clark. Jason could feel his regular tension headache starting up again between his eyes. Clark and Dick hugged in that way that was so close to a father-son hug that Jason couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before. Of course Clark and Bruce were together like that, they were practically married already, and Clark had basically helped raise all of Bruce’s haphazardly obtained children. Hell, Jason could remember him hanging around when _Jason_ had been a kid. That was years ago. He wondered faintly if they’d been together all that time and Jason had just been too stupid to notice. If he’d been too stupid to notice that, what the hell else had he missed?

“It’s good to see you, Jason,” Clark said, pulling him into one of those patented bone-crushing Superman hugs. Jason hugged him back for lack of a better place to put his hands.

“You too, Clark, it’s been too long,” he said, mostly to be polite. He hadn’t seen Clark outside of his Superman regalia in years, they didn’t know each other very well, really.

Once all the hello’s had been exchanged (all polite, except Damian, who’d called Clark an alien and refused to return the bone crushing hug Clark turned his way), they began to once again make their way to the dining room table where Alfred had laid out enough food to feed a small army. So, all in all, just enough to feed five bats and an alien.

Clark said grace while all the Wayne’s fidgeted in their seats, and then they all dug in like starved hounds.

Jason quietly cut into his turkey slice and watched his family as they laughed and jeered at each other. Dick was wheedling Damian mercilessly about some girl in his art class at school, while Tim and Clark were deep in discussion about the finer points of the Kryptonian language. Bruce was talking to Alfred so quietly and earnestly, that Jason was sure it had something to do with Alfred being a surrogate parental figure for all five of them. Jason shoveled a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth and embraced the feeling of being the odd one out. It was better that he remember who he was and where he stood with them.

After a moment Dick looked up from his conversation with Damian and smiled at Jason.

“How’s the food?” He asked. Jason shrugged around a mouthful of greens drenched in Alfred’s homemade gravy.

“As amazing as I remember it,” he said, unwilling to slander Alfred’s good name for the sake of shutting himself out.  
“Good, I’m glad. You know Alfred made blueberry pie just for you. He said it had been a while, but he still had the recipe.”

And that was… well that was something. Jason was the only one of the family who really liked blueberry pie. He used to make it with his mom before she got too high to remember how to make it. He and Alfred had painstakingly recreated the recipe she’d used from Jason’s memory and Alfred’s knowledge of baking. Jason had almost cried the first time he’d tried it, and he could barely hold back the choke of emotion now as he realized that maybe, just maybe, he actually was wanted. If Alfred had made the pie just for him, then that was something special, something Jason couldn’t ignore.

“Really?” He asked. Dick nodded.

“After you came back he made it every Thanksgiving hoping you’d come home just for one, but he gave up after a while. He was so excited to hear you were coming this year,” Dick said. Jason had to look away from him, down at his place which was still covered in all different kinds of Thanksgiving staples. He forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat.

“I’m glad you’re here, Jason. We all are,” Dick said. Jason looked back at him and for the first time since he’d crawled his way out of his own grave, he really felt like that was true.

\----

Thanksgiving passed by in a flurry of heaping plates and savory goodness. When it was finally time for dessert Alfred cut Jason the biggest slice of blueberry pie he’d ever been given. Then Alfred cut himself another equally humungus slice, and took Tim’s spot on Jason’s left. They tucked in together, and Jason practically moaned when the first bite hit his lips.

“Alfred, you’ve outdone yourself,” he said, a massive purple grin on his face. Alfred smiled softly at him.

“I’m glad my dear boy. I was worried I would forget something, but one never really forgets how to make the best blueberry pie on the planet.”

Jason laughed loud and booming, and didn’t notice the multiple sets of variously shaded blue eyes that landed on him, all surprised at his openness. Jason simply hugged Alfred tight, and whispered, “Thank you,” so fiercely that Alfred had no choice but to hug back and whisper “You’re so very _welcome.”_

\----

When dinner finished they moved to the living room to turn on the Thanksgiving football game, which only really Clark watched, and play various different intellectually challenging games, which mostly Bruce, Tim, and Damian focused on. Each of them was trying to outdo the other at whatever landed in front of them, be it Monopoly, Risk, or Go Fish.

Jason sat back on the couch with Dick and Alfred, his eyes glazing over the television from time to time, with a cup of tea in one hand, and the other behind Dick on the couch.

“This was a great Thanksgiving,” Dick said as he sunk into the plushness of the couch, “but I think I’m going to need to sleep for a week to digest all this food.”

Jason snorted.

“Hey, so I was wondering what you think of Artemis?” Jason asked, suddenly curious. He couldn’t help but remember what she’d said, about Dick not knowing that Jason wanted him. He noted how Dick stiffened, and shuffled to get himself more comfortable. Alfred gazed at them both over the rim of his tea cup, one eyebrow delicately raised.

“Well, I think she’s a great fighter. A good vigilante, too, but of course she’s an Amazon so that’s really to be expected. I guess she’s pretty too, if you go for redheads,” which they all knew he did, “and she really knows how to handle any kind of weapon. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen her with the same thing twice.”

Jason laughed a little at Dick’s twisted expression.

“No, I mean as a person,” he clarified. Dick looked like he’d sucked on a lemon.

“I think she’s fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yeah, fine, you know? I mean I can’t say I agree with her methods, but then I don’t really agree with yours either. She’s a little brutal all things considered. I don’t know if that’s really good for you. I think you need someone a little less prone to violence than you are, you know, to balance you out,” Dick admitted, finally. Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah? And who do you suggest? You?” There. He’d said it.

Alfred’s other eyebrow climbed up his forehead to join the other in shocked awe.

Dick, meanwhile, sputtered out a flustered response. “No- I mean, well- I mean, _yes,_ if you want to get technical about it. I mean I am less prone to violence, but that’s not- I mean, I just-” he cut himself off with a frustrated huff while Jason took a deliberately slow sip of his tea.

“Well, all that aside, don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’m going to marry her or anything,” he said, saving Dick from having to dig himself out of his self inflicted hole.

“You’re not?” Dick asked sharply.

“No, of course not. I told you, we’re not even really dating. We’re just having fun, I guess. I mean, neither of us is really quality relationship material and we both had some, uh, tension, so we just decided to, uh-”

“Relieve some tension?” Dick asked, with amused eyes. Jason nodded, clearing his throat in a last-ditch effort to preserve his dignity.

Alfred was now openly staring at them, his tea chilling in its cup, which still hung in the air right in front of his mouth.

“Right, yeah, that,” Jason said. Dick nodded, and sat thoughtfully silent for a long moment.

“So you don’t think you guys will ever really be together?”

“No,” Jason said, “and I don’t think our, er, _arrangement_ , is going to last much longer anyway. I think I’m going to cut it. We both need something more, and it’s time we moved on,” he said, and surprised himself by being honest. Dick was staring at him, having completely forgotten Alfred was even there. Jason’s mind was whirling a mile a minute. It almost looked like Dick was hopeful, or some ridiculous nonsense like that. He swallowed hard, and shoved his feelings down deep. He couldn’t make a move, not now, not while Dick was still in a relationship and their future was still so uncertain, but that didn’t matter, because now Jason had something else; he had hope.

\----

“I think it’s time we stopped doing this,” Jason said to Artemis, who sat in his kitchen with a cup of coffee at her lips. She raised a pointed ginger eyebrow at him.

“Drinking coffee?”

“No, the no strings attached sex. I think it’s time we both find something more fulfilling.”

“Sexually? Are you saying I am a bad fuck?” She asked, thunder in her gaze. Jason frantically shook his head.

“No, no, no, not at all. No, I mean emotionally. I think we need something more emotionally fulfilling. At least, I do, anyway,” he said, trailing off at the end thinking of Dick. She nodded.

“So you and Dick have decided to pursue a relationship, then?” She asked.

“No,” Jason replied, confused. She sighed, a truly irritated look on her face.

“Fine,” she snapped. “No more sex, but for the gods sake, will you just ask him out already?”

“He’s dating someone, and he’s strictly monogamous.”

“Then break them up!”  
“I tried that.”

“And?”  
“I like the other guy too much,” he said, still irritated with himself for admitting it. Artemis looked like she’d like to strangle him. She drained the rest of her coffee and grabbed her things.

“I need to go punch someone,” she said, and stormed out of his apartment in a flurry of red hair. Jason sighed and went about rinsing out her coffee cup. He understood how idiotic he was acting, but at this point it was a matter of principle. He was pretty sure Dick was interested in him, and he was positive he was interested in Dick. He’d broken things off with Artemis, and so now he was just waiting for Dick to break things off with Midnighter. If he did it meant he was willing to try something with Jason, and Jason was free to finally, _finally,_ ask him on a date. If he didn’t break things off with Midnighter, then that meant that he wanted Midnighter, and that he was willing to see their relationship through it’s due course. If that was true then no amount of cajoling from Jason would get Dick to go on a date with him. Dick was a well documented monogamist, after all.

\----

It all came to a head in Gotham about a month later. Dick had called Jason in on one of his cases when it became clear that the Roman Sionis, Black Mask, was in charge of the whole operation. Dick brought along Midnighter for backup, and Jason brought along Roy. They met on the roof of the building Sionis was using as his base of operations. It was an abandoned factory in the worst part of town. According to Dick, he was running drugs through Gotham, and hiding them in the cotton of stuffed animals. They planned to attack his warehouse, destroy his supply, and, because Dick was running things, arrest everyone they found.

Jason landed on the roof with Roy trailing closely behind him. Dick and Midnighter were already there, suited up and standing just a little too far apart for all to be well.

“What’s the deal, Dickiebird?” Jason asked. Dick looked up and smiled.

“Hey, Jay, Roy. There’s about thirty or so guards outside the building, and about dozen inside with the workers. Our best bet is to sneak inside, lock the building from the inside, call the police, and dispatch the guards, then secure the workers. Then we can help the police take care of the guys out front, and all be on our merry way,” Dick said. Jason nodded.

“Sounds good, Roy?” He asked, looking back. Roy shrugged.  
“No complaints here.”

Dick nodded.

“Ok, I’ve got the front entrance, Roy you take the back. Jason, M, you guys start working on the goons. Everybody ready?”

They all nodded.

“Good, then let’s go.” He opened the skylight and slipped inside, Roy quickly following. Jason and Midnighter were close behind, landing loudly in the center of the room. The guards went straight for them; they hadn’t even noticed that anyone else was there. While Jason and Midnighter took care of the goons, Dick and Roy set about rounding up the workers and tying them up gently. It was difficult to tell if someone was working for a man like Roman Sionis by choice or by not-so-gentle persuasion. In case of both they tied the workers up so they didn’t cause any problems.

Just as he was finishing off the last goon Jason heard sirens and saw lights flash through the windows. Dick looked up from where he was speaking gently to a panicking woman who was tied up with the workers. He looked to Jason first and frowned.

“I’ll stay here and tie these guys up, since all three of you have ranged weapons you guys can help the police with the rest of those guys outside. Just please no mortal wounds, okay?”

God he was just so fucking earnest. Jason had a hard time denying him anything, and he knew it was probably the same for Midnighter and Roy, who both nodded along with Jason in agreement.

“All right, see you on the other side then. We can meet up about a block away at Hood’s safe house on 51st. Sound good?”

There were nods all around, and then Jason, Roy, and Midnighter were making their way back through the skylight, and over to where the police were engaged in a shootout with the rest of the goons. Jason and Roy fired from above while Midnighter jumped down and started throwing punches. The fight was long, but it was mostly just tedious. When Jason ran out of rubber bullets he jumped down and joined Midnighter in the hand to hand combat.

When there were only a few goons left conscious the three of them made their way away from the scene of the crime before the police could stop them. Jason glanced down the skylight into the factory once more, and noticed it empty of black and blue vigilantes. Satisfied that Dick had already gotten away, he took off after Roy in the direction of his safe house, leading Midnighter behind him.

\----

It didn’t take them long to get to his safe house. They climbed through the window, and sat to rest. Roy sprawled out on the couch, while Midnighter went to make himself a cup of coffee. Jason looked around the apartment for Dick, and grew concerned when he didn’t find him. It looked like someone had been there. The window had already been unlocked for one thing, and the dust had been disturbed for another. Jason looked a second time, and only then did he notice the note taped to the bathroom mirror.

 _I have your little blue bird, and you owe me $1.5 million. I’m sure we can come to an arrangement._ _  
_ _W 100th and Park. Midnight. Come alone or else, etc._

__\- Black Mask_ _

Jason snatched the note off the mirror, his heart hammering in his chest. He wasn’t stupid enough to go alone, but Sionis wasn’t exactly known for being understanding. He shouldn’t risk doing anything stupid. If he told Roy then he could count on him for unseen back up, but Midnighter was a loose cannon. Jason didn’t know enough about him to know how he’d react if his boyfriend was in trouble. Would he charge in, guns blazing, ruining any chance of safely retrieving Dick? Or would he be smart? Did Jason really have the time to decide?

No. He didn’t.

He marched into the kitchen, note clutched in hand.  
“Get up, Sionis has Dick. We need to go get him,” Jason said, slapping the note on the table. Roy peered warily at it, and Midnighter shot forward, snatching it off the table. Jason exchanged a glance with Roy, and they came to a silent, well established agreement. If Midnighter caused any problems, then they’d knock him out and go get Dick themselves. Luckily Midnighter just took a deep breath and lowered the note. He looked up at Jason.

“So, how far away do you want us?” He asked. Jason quirked a smile.

“Just far enough to be out of sight. I have comms we can use,” he said. Midnighter was frowning, clearly displeased, but he only nodded. Roy went to retrieve the comms, and then they were off.

\----

Jason walked up to the address with his helmet on, and his guns loaded with lead. He’d decided that Dick didn’t have a say on murder when it came to his own kidnapping. The building was on the outskirts of Gotham, a mostly dilapidated but still running office building. There were no cars in the parking lot, but there were name plates on the spots closest to the door, which meant that whatever this building housed, it was probably still in business. Jason stepped inside. There was only two floors, but the elevator didn’t work and the door to the stairwell was locked for the night, so he continued down the main hallway. The lights were on automatic sensors and the next one lit every time Jason took another step. He made it all the way to the end of the hall to a door that read: ADAM KEEBLER - REGIONAL MANAGER. He pushed it open to find a massive office, and Dick sitting unconscious, tied to a chair in the center of the room. Jason looked around for traps or triggers, and his pulse quickened when he didn’t find any. He stepped carefully closer to Dick, and quickened his pace with each new step that didn’t bring injury. When he finally made it to Dick, he grabbed Dick’s face between his hands. His mask was still on.

“Nightwing, hey, Nightwing! Wake up!” Jason hissed, trying his best to be just loud enough to rouse Dick without attracting any undue attention. Dick’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked confusedly at Jason for a moment, before his eyes widened with recognition.

“Hood,” he gasped out. They were being watched, otherwise Dick would’ve called him Jason.

“Yeah, it’s me, don’t worry, I’m going to get you out of this,” he said, examining Dick’s bonds for weak points.

“No, don’t, it’s a trap. There’s a bomb on the other side of the desk,” Dick said. Jason’s eyes flickered up to meet his, and he swallowed hard. He turned to look behind Dick, and sure enough there was a long thin wire that protruded from Dick’s tied fists, and ran under the desk. Jason followed the wire behind the desk, and crouched down to see a massive block of C4, all wired up and counting down slowly.

“It’s counting down,” Jason said, his chest tight.

“Yeah,” came Dick’s carefully emotionless voice. “There’s a pressure plate by the front door, a loose step I think? Mask has the whole place wired. The step is the trigger. It started counting down from ten the second you stepped on it.”

Jason cursed his own ignorance and began to examine the bomb. He switched on the video function of his lens display, and silently commed Roy.

“This one looks tricky,” he said, avoiding saying Roy’s name. It had to look like he was alone, or Sionis would pull the trigger early and they’d both be dead.  
“Don’t worry Jaybird, I’m on it. Show me where the wires connect,” he said. Jason moved to look at the wires, thanking every god he could think of that Roy was an electronics genius.

“Yeah?” Dick asked, his voice tense.  
“Yeah, but don’t worry Wing, I’ll figure it out.”

He was silent for a long moment as Roy fed him instructions through his comm.

“You know, just in case this all goes to hell, I’ve got to tell you something,” Dick said suddenly. Jason grunted in acknowledgement.

“I’m in love with you,” Dick said quickly. Jason almost dropped the bomb.

“What?” He asked looking up for a split second before Roy chastised him, and he looked back at the bomb.

“Yeah, I mean, I know I’ve sort of told you before, but I figured I should just make things clear in case I die here,” Dick said.

“What do you mean you’ve told me before?” Jason asked.

“Well I guess I never really said the words, but that night after I broke up with Slade-”  
“You kissed me,” Jason said, frowning.

“Yeah,” Dick sighed.

“But you were drunk.”

“I never let myself get drunk enough that I can’t make decisions. I meant it when I told you I wanted you, Jason. I’m sorry I didn’t say it again while I was sober, but you pushed me away, and I thought that was your answer, and then when you told me about you and Artemis, and I offered the same thing you said you didn’t want that,” Dick said. Jason frowned.

“You should know me well enough to know that any kind of inebriated isn’t okay where that kind of thing’s concerned, Nightwing, and I didn’t want to be friends with benefits, not with you. You mean more to me than that. Look, let’s just talk about this later, okay?” He said. He was incredibly frustrated. He had a bomb to deal with, and now he had Dick declaring his undying love out of the blue.

“Okay,” Dick said, his voice just a little too small. The timer read three minutes now.

“Okay, Jason, I’ve gotten some specs from Oracle, open the plate with the countdown, then cut both green wires at the same time, we’re pretty sure those are the ones that are wiring it to the rest of the building. Then you’ve got to remove the box the green wires were attached to, and then cut the red wire. That’s the one that’s linked the timer and the C4 it’s sitting on,” Roy’s voice rattled at him from his comm.

Jason couldn’t comment on the ‘pretty sure’, so instead he just did as he was told.

“Okay, Nightwing, I’m going to disarm it now,” he said.

“Okay,” Dick replied in that same small voice.

Jason got wire cutters from his belt and cut both green wires together. When nothing happened he released a breath and moved on. He pulled out the little black box, which pulled the snipped ends of the green wire with it, and found a fat red wire sitting beneath it. It was a red tube with several different wires protruding from it. Jason pointed at it with the wire cutters.

“Yeah, that one, I know it’s a bunch of wires, but yeah, that one,” Roy said in his ear. Jason took a deep breath, and cut the wire on the exhale.

When nothing happened he shut off the video feed, and dropped to a sit on the floor and closed his eyes, the tension bleeding out of him.

“Okay, I got it,” Jason said.

“Okay,” Dick said again. Jason sat there a second longer, before getting up and moving to untie Dick.

“I’m sorry I did this wrong,” Dick said as Jason worked at the knot on his hands. Jason didn’t ask what he was talking about.  
“I shouldn’t have gotten drunk. Or I shouldn’t have told you then. Whichever, I just shouldn’t have done it. It cheapened it, I get that now,” he was still talking, even though Jason wasn’t saying anything back.

“Why did you start dating Midnighter?” Jason asked.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I asked you on a date to the circus, then you were on a case for weeks and came back with a new boyfriend,” Jason said, unwilling to let himself give in just yet. He cut through the last knot, and stood. Dick looked up at him and rose slowly from his chair. He cupped Jason’s cheeks.

“Oh, Little Wing, I didn’t know that was a date. You never said, and I think it’s already been well established that I’m just a little bit stupid. I’m so sorry, we could’ve avoided all of this,” he was smiling sadly at Jason, but he wasn’t making a move. He was waiting for Jason, waiting for his approval. Jason stepped back.

“You’re still dating Midnighter, and I don’t do cheating,” he said. Dick smiled at him.

“Yeah, I know,” he said. Together they walked out of the building, and Jason pulled Dick close enough that when he shot a line up the next building, they were pulled off the ground together and up into the sky. They landed on top of the building where Roy and Midnighter were waiting for them. Midnighter looked a little worse for ware.

“M, what happened?” Dick asked, concerned. Midnighter shrugged.

“After you disarmed the bomb plan B crawled out of the shadows, but don’t worry, I took care of them,” he said.

“Oh, and we called the cops already to deal with them, so we’re home free,” Roy said. “Though you might want to invest in a new safe house Jaybird.”

Jason snorted.

Suddenly Dick stepped up to Midnighter, and pulled him into a hug.

“Lucas, I’m sorry, but I have to break up with you because I’m in love with Jason and he doesn’t do cheating,” he said. Jason’s eyes grew wide, and he was so very grateful for his helmet. Roy, with his lack of helmet, wore a completely dumbfounded expression. Midnighter just laughed.

“Don’t worry about it babe. It’s been fun, but I prefer blondes anyway,” he said. Dick laughed, kissed him lightly on the cheek, and turned back to Jason.

“Well?” He asked. This time Jason didn’t even wait ten seconds. Fuck waiting.

“Dick, will you go out with me tomorrow night?” He asked. Dick grinned big and wide and bright.

“Fuck yes,” he said.

\----

Their first date was at the same shitty pizzaria Bruce used to take them to when they were kids. It was small and dirty and mostly smelled like stale soda, but they ordered a pizza that was half Hawaiian and half meat lovers, and Jason didn’t complain once when he bit down and got a stray piece of pineapple. They played pinball on the old machine in the corner and Dick beat Jason so badly he wrote the scores down on a napkin which he then tucked in his pocket so he’d never forget them. Jason rolled his eyes and picked all the pineapple off Dick’s side of the pizza while he was in the bathroom. Dick was scandalized when he got back, and insisted Jason take him for ice cream in retribution. They ended up at Mr. Freeze’s Frozen Treats where Dick got two scoops of pineapple ice cream just to see the disgusted look on Jason’s face.

Jason walked Dick back to his apartment, and Dick kissed him just hard enough that when he asked if Jason wanted to come up for coffee at eleven o’clock at night, Jason didn’t even hesitate to say yes.

Jason had Dick against the front door the second it closed behind them. He attacked Dick’s neck with his mouth, kissing and biting against the soft skin there. Dick moaned and threw his head back against the door, tossing it to the side to give Jason more room.

“ _ Jason _ ,” he moaned, hands winding their way into Jason’s hair. He pulled Jason up so that he might kiss him properly; fiercely and wildly and with lots of tongue. 

Jason got his hands on Dick’s ass, squeezing and massaging at the plush softness of it. The greatest ass in Gotham by far, and it was all his. He grinned into the kiss.

“I can finally see what got all your damn rogues so riled up,” he muttered into the kiss. Dick smacked the back of his head.

“You should be so lucky.”

“But I am that lucky,” Jason smirked and Dick rolled his eyes. Then Jason dove back in, kissing him again. He readjusted his grip on Dick’s ass and lifted him with a sudden show of brute strength. Dick moaned and wrapped his legs around Jason’s waist.

“That is so hot,” Dick moaned, kissing at Jason’s neck while Jason rushed them to the bedroom. Jason smirked, his animal hindbrain satisfied at Dick’s approval, and smacked Dick on the ass. Dick made an affronted noise, but chose not to comment. When they finally reached the bedroom Jason threw Dick onto the bed, where he landed, sprawled out and mussed. He was flushed pink, and Jason grinned down at him.

“Strip,” he ordered. Dick wasted no time in following his instructions, and divested himself of his clothing and shoes. When he finally pulled off his underwear, and lay completely naked for Jason’s satisfied eyes, he smiled slyly, and arranged himself more attractively on the bed. Jason rolled his eyes.

“You are such a fucking slut,” he said. Dick scoffed. 

“Watch your mouth, Jay, or you’re not getting any.”

Jason rolled his eyes, but wisely kept silent. He finished stripping off his own clothes and followed Dick down onto the bed. He drank in the sight of him; flushed and wanting, and smiled.

“You’re so beautiful,” Jason said suddenly, and Dick’s flush ran darker.

“Now that’s more like it,” he said, almost shyly. Jason surged forward in a fierce kiss, and ran his fingers down Dick’s stomach, past his cock, and down to the cleft of his ass, which he rubbed at a little without pushing in.

“There’s lube and condoms in the bedside table,” Dick said quietly. Jason nodded, and slipped away to grab them. His body felt cold where it was no longer touching Dick’s. 

He grabbed the condom and slid it on quickly, and then made quick work of the lube. He stretched Dick thoroughly, with one, two, three fingers that had him throwing his head back and moaning at the feeling. Jason found his prostate quickly and rubbed his fingers over it, causing Dick’s back to arch delicately against the bed. 

“Jay, please,” he moaned, his voice breaking on the words. Jason didn’t waste any more time. He slicked himself quickly, and pressed the head of his cock against Dick’s hole. He pushed in a little, just enough for Dick to feel the pressure and no further. Dick groaned, his hands clenching in the sheets above his head. 

“Please, Jay, I need it, please.”

Jason smirked and pressed a kiss to his chest.

“Whatever you say pretty bird,” he whispered. He pushed all the way in in one smooth slide. Dick screamed, his head falling back against the bed, and his back arching once more in a graceful olive toned bend. 

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” Jason groaned, his head falling against Dick’s chest as he waited for Dick to adjust. 

“Well what are you waiting for? Show me what you can do Hood,” Dick smirked at him from under thick black lashes, and Jason was not about to take that lying down. He pulled out almost completely, and then slammed back inside. With that he set a brutal, punishing pace; one that had Dick screaming with pleasure, his hands white knuckling the headboard as he was fucked very thoroughly into the mattress. 

“Jason, please, I need to come,” Dick gasped out. He made a move for his cock, but Jason grabbed his hand and put it back on the headboard. 

“Let me take care of you, Dickie,” he said, getting one hand on Dick’s cock. He stroked in time with his thrusts, and eventually Dick came with a shout, shooting hot and thick across his own stomach. He fell limply back into the mattress as Jason finished off inside him. He came with one long groan, and then stopped, letting himself catch his breath while still remaining inside Dick.

“Fuck, you’re good at that,” Dick sighed, a completely sated look on his face, almost as if he wasn’t all there. Jason smirked, more than a little pleased with himself. He pulled out slowly, which earned him a short pleased little moan from Dick. He tied off, and threw out the condom, and then lay back against the bed, completely and utterly sated. Dick rolled over and lay his head on Jason’s chest. 

“Give me five minutes, I’ll be ready for round two,” he said. Jason looked down at him sharply. 

“Seriously?” 

“Are you complaining?”

“Absolutely not,” he said, grinning a little. Jason spared one half second of thought on Dick’s other lovers, and wondered how many of them had been given the same treatment. He felt himself grow hot with jealousy, and shoved the thought from his mind. This wasn’t the place for any of them, this was only for him and Dick, and he wouldn’t ruin it by not being there completely in both mind and body. 

Jason put an arm around Dick and pulled him closer. He relished in the faded scent of pineapple ice cream and the citrus of Dick’s shampoo.

“I love you,” he said suddenly, then froze at the suddenness of it. It was  _ way _ too soon to be admitting ridiculous things like that. But Dick only smiled, kissed him lightly on the chest, and said, “I love you too.”

 

Six Months Later 

Jason landed a solid punch to the goon with the snaggletooth and the ironic eyepatch. He was dressed in black gear while his definitely handsomer friend to the right was dressed in white. Behind them Two-Face cackled while a ticking clock counted down behind him. Another stupid bomb, it was really just Jason’s luck. Jason threw his goon over the railing, and advanced on Two-Face. By the time Dick had knocked his goon out, Jason had slammed into Two-Face with a swift flying tackle, and had taken him down hard. Dick got out the handcuffs, and cocked his hip as he stared down at Jason.

“I’m positive that wasn’t necessary,” he said, a massive smile on his face. Jason shrugged and took the handcuffs from him, locking them around Harvey Dent’s wrists. He tied Dent to the bomb that Dick had shut down, just in case he got any bright ideas, and called the cops. While they were sitting there waiting Dick stretched long and luxuriously, and Jason didn’t even bother to try to stop his eyes from wandering.

“You know, you really are just very handsome. Do you happen to know if you’re free in six to eight months depending on good behavior?” Two-Face asked, clearly talking to Dick. Jason shot him what would have been a truly soul withering glare if not for the helmet in the way. Dick just laughed.

“Sorry, Harvey, I think it’s going to be a lot longer than that. Even so, I’m definitely taken,” he replied. Jason scoffed, only a little sated.

“What the hell is it with you and morally shitty middle aged men, pretty bird?” Jason asked. Dick smirked at him.

“Well, everyone’s got a type.”


End file.
